Division  Jj'j 
Section  ^"13^  J 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  AND 
THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


STELE  OK  SETY  I,   1320  B.C.  — SERABIT 

Frontispiece 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 

AND 

THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


A  SUMMARY  OF  RESULTS  OBTAINED 
BY   EXPLORATION  IN   EGYPT  UP  TO 

 .   ^^vc^^ 

ACCOUNT  OF  THOSE  BEARING  ON  THE/ 

OLD  TESTAMENT  QQJ    g  pgg 

J.  GARROW  DUNCAN,  B.D. 

BLACKIE  SCHOLAB,  1894-5;  INTEEIM-DIBECTOE  OF  EXCAVATIONS  AT  NDFFAE,  1895-6; 
WILSON  AECH^OLOGICAX  FELLOW  (ABD».)i  1905-6;  JOINT- ADTHOE 
WITH  DE  FLINDEES  PETRIE  OF  "  HTKSOS  AND 
ISBAELITE  CITIES,"  1906 

WITH  100  ILLUSTRATIONS  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


PUBLISHED  BY 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  TORONTO 


PRINTED  BY 
TCRNBULL  A\D  SPEARS, 
EOINaUEGlI 


^0 

MY  WIFE 


PREFACE 


The  following  pages  are  the  outcome  of  work  done 
and  experience  acquired  under  the  guidance  of 
Dr  Flinders  Petrie  at  Nagada  in  1894-5,  but 
particularly  in  Goshen  during  the  winter  of  1905-6, 
where,  as  Wilson  Archaeological  Fellow  (Abdn.),  I  had 
the  privilege  of  excavating  and  recording  five  sites. 
This  work  has  been  supplemented  by  some  additional 
chapters,  intended  to  give  a  succinct  and  popular 
account  of  Biblical  Egyptology  up  to  date,  and  others 
descriptive  of  modern  oriental  life. 

The  illustrations  are  mostly  from  my  own  camera, 
but  I  have  to  acknowledge  several  from  Dr  Petrie 
and  Mr  T.  Butler  Stoney.  I  am  further  indebted  to 
Dr  Petrie  and  to  his  publishers  (Messrs  Methuen  &  Co.) 
for  the  use  of  two  blocks  from  the  third  volume  of  his 
"  History  of  Egypt." 

To  Mr  Claude  Gilbart  Smith,  Education  Department, 
Egypt,  for  his  edifying  suggestions  during  our  sojourn 
in  Goshen ;  to  the  Bev.  J.  Bobertson  Duncan,  Lhanbryd, 
for  his  assistance  in  editing  the  MS.  and  revising  the 
proofs ;  and  to  my  wife  for  helpful  criticism,  I  tender 
my  warmest  thanks. 

J.  G.  D. 

The  Mansf,  Kirkmichael,  Banffshire, 
September  190S. 

Note. — In  the  Sketch  Maps  the  identification  of  sites  by 
Dr  Flinders  Petrie  has  for  the  most  part  been  adopted. 

J.  G.  D. 


CONTENTS 


Ca\P.  PAGE 
I.  THE    WORK,    METHODS,   AND    EXPERIENCES    OF  THE 

EXCAVATOR  ......  9 

II.  STRIA   AND   PALESTINE  BEFORE  THE  EXODUS,  FROM 

EGYPTIAN  MONUMENTS  ....  29 

III.  FORMER   DISCOVERIES    IN   EGYPT    BEARING   ON  THE 

OLD  TESTAMENT        .....  70 

y  IV.  THE     TOWN     AND     DISTRICT    OF     GOSHEN    IN  THE 

ISRAELITE  PERIOD    .....  106 

V.  THE  CEMETERY  OF  GOSHEN,  EXAMINED  IN  1905-6 — 
POTTERY,  JEWELLERY,  AND  BURIAL  CUSTOMS  OF 
THE  ISRAELITE  PERIOD        .  .  .  .116 

VI.  CEMETERY  OF  GOSHEN  AT  SUWA  AND  A  LI  MAR  AH    .  130 

VII.  MODERN  INHABITANTS  OF  GOSHEN — THE  PEOPLE  AND 

THEIR  OCCUPATION  .....  142 

VIII.  MODERN  INHABITANTS — THE  POSITION  OF  WOMAN     .  149 

IX.  MODERN    INHABITANTS   OF    GOSHEN — SOME  MARKED 

CHARACTERISTICS      .  .  .  .  .157 

X.  THE  TREASURE  CITY — RAMESES  .  .  .  167 

XI.  BELBEYS— BAILOS  IN  THE  "  WATER  OF  RA"  .  176 

XII.  THE  MOUND  OF  THE  JEW        ....  186 
A  I 


2       THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


CHAP.  PAGE 

XIII.  THE  MOUND  OF  THE  JEW — BURIAL  CUSTOMS  OF  EARLY 

CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES  .  .  .  .196 

XIV.  THE  MOUND  OF  THE  JEWISH  LADY — THE  MOUND  AND 

TEMPLE  OF  ONAIAS  ....  208 

XV.  THE    MOUND    OF  THE    JEWISH    LADY— THE  HYKSOS 

FORT,  AVARIS  .  .  .  .  .217 

XVI.  "fountain    of   HORUS" — A  STOREHOUSE    FORT  OF 

THE  ISRAELITE  PERIOD        ....  223 

XVII.  THE  DATE  OF  WRITING  ....  233 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Stele  of  Sety  I.,  1320  b.c. — Serabit       .  .  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGB 

A  Group  of  our  Men        .....  14 

Our  Camp — Belbeys  ......  14 

Ninepins,  4500  b.c.    ......  19 

Flint-Knives,  4500  b.c— Nagada  .         .         .  .19 

Flints,  4500  b.c. — Nagada  .         .         .         .  .23 

Ivory  Spoons  and  Harpoons,  c.  4500  b.c. — Nagada      .  23 

Wood  and  Ivory  Combs,  4500  b.c, — Nagada      .         .  26 

Alabasters,  4500  b.c. — Nagada    .         .         .  .26 

Map  of  Syria  of  T.  A.  Letters    .         .         .  .30 

Map  of  Palestine  under  Thothmes  III.  and  Succeeding 

Kings      .......  40 

Merenptah — Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus    .         .  .69 

Rameses  II.— Last  Pharaoh  of  the  Oppression  .  69 

Bethel-Shelter — Serabit  .....  72 

Map  of  Egypt  and  Sinai — Route  of  Exodus     .         .  76 

Canal  Ferry — Goshen       .....  85 

Near  Goshen  Cemetery     .         .         .         .  .85 

A  Strolling  Musician       .....  92 

Tillage  Pond,  Suwa — Women  Washing  .         .  .92 

Goshen  Town — Saft  .         .         .         .         .  .113 

Ruins  of  Goshen     .         .  .         .  .113 

Large  Pot — Ears  Inscribed         .  .  .  .115 

Bes  Face  Pot — Infant-Burial      ....  115 

8 


4       THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 

FACING  PAGE 

COFFIN-LiD,  XVIII.  DYN. — AVARIS       .  .  .  .117 

COFFIN-LiD,  XVIII.  DYN. — GoSHEN     ....  117 

Pot  Inscribed  Skiaksal — Child-Burial  .  .  .11^ 

Water-Pitcher  Used  in  Child-Burial    .  .  .  11^ 

Cypriote  Pottery — Israelite  Period      .  ,  .  122 

Ushabtis — Israelite  Period         ....  122 

Cornelian  Necklaces— Israelite  Period  .  .  124 

Scarabs — Goshen  Cemetery          .         .  .  .124 

Child's  Blue  Glaze  Necklaces — Israelite  Period  .  126 

Blue  Glaze  Bracelets — Israelite  Period  .  .  126 

Gold  Ear-Rings — Israelite  Period        .  .  .  12S 

Gold  Ear-Rings  and  Silver-Gilt  Hair  (or  Ear)  Rings 

— Israelite  Period      .....  128 

Child's  Necklace  (xxvi.  dyn.),  Double-Face  Pendant, 

AND  Bronze  Bells  (Toys)       .         .         .  .131 

Child  Pot-Burial  in  Position      ....  131 

Child's  Toy  Pottery — Ptolemaic  ....  133 

Drinking-Cup — Israelite  Period.    Greek  Vase          .  133 

Tables  of  Offerings — Suwa         ....  135 

Blue  Glaze  Kohl  Tubes  (xxii.  dyn.),  Roman  Glass 

Vases,  and  Bracelet    .         .         .         .  .138 

Roman  Glass  Vases  and  Drinking-Cup  .         .         .  138 

Bronze  Situlae  for  Drink-Offerings     .         .         .  140 

Lady  with  Mandoline,  1000  b.c. — Goshen  Cemetery    .  140 

A  Princess  of  the  Desert — Rheyta       .         .  .142 

Bedawin  Children    ......  142 

Making  Drills        .         .         .         .         .  .145 

Ploughing     .......  145 

Water-Wheel— Sagyah      .....  147 

Field  Laid  Out       ......  147 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  5 

FACING  PA.GK 

Young  Girls  .......  149 

At  Eventide  .......  156 

Going  to  Draw  Water — Morning  .         .         .  156 

Children  at  School — BeLbeys      .          .         .  .158 

Children  Sabakhin  on  Sand  Waxl  of  Burru  Yusef  .  158 

Interior  of    Skeikh   Sadun's  Tomb,  Showing  Rags 

Attached  .  .  .  .  .  .160 

The  Healing-Block  (Sand  Wall  of  Avaris  in  Dis- 
tance)    .......  160 

Rameses  II.  Smiting  a  Syrian  Captive  before  Atmu — 

Rameses  .......  165 

So-Called  Dyad  of  Moses  and  Aaron   .         .         .  165 

The  Great  House— Rameses        ....  172 

Frog-Bowl— Rameses         .         .         .         .  .172 

Sheikhs'  Tombs — Tell  Sadun        ....  177 

Buried  Houses— Belbeys    .....  177 

SooKH — Coppersmiths         .....  179 

Suffeh  Unearthed— Burru  Yusef         .         .  .179 

Sookh — Pottery       ......  181 

The  Sookh — Drapers         .....  181 

Sookh— Bakers        ......  183 

The  Sookh— Grain  Merchants     ....  183 

Sheikh's  Reception  Hut — Babylonia  .         .  186 

Cattle  Sookh  ......  186 

The  Sookh — Drink-Seller  .....  188 

Sookh— Water-Seller        .         .         .       '  .  .188 

Gold  Ear-Rings  (Syrian),   Silver   Pendants  (Early 

Christian) — Rheyta     .....  190 

Glass  Mirrors  (Early  Christian) — Rheyta       .         .  190 


Alabaster  Ointment-Boxes — Early  Christian,  c.  250  a.d.  192 


6       THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 

FACING  PAGE 

Soldiers'  Graves— Eheyta  .....  197 

Prehistoric  Buriax— Nagada       ....  197 

Degenerate   Slipper-Shaped    Coffins,  c.    300    a.d. — 

Ehetta    .......  204 

Prehistoric  Burial,  Nagada — Showing  Swathing  .  204 

Passover  Cylinder — Built  Up      .         .         .  .211 

Passover  Cylinder  .         .         .         .         .  .211 

Wall  of  Onaias'  Mound    .         .         .         .  .213 

Ostrakon — Brick  Account  with  Name  Abram  (Leon- 

topolis)   .......  213 

Hyksos  Pottery — Avaris    .....  215 

Hyksos  Burial — Avaris     .         .         .         .  .215 

Two  Statues  from  Avaris  .         .         .         .  .218 

Plastered  Sloping  Face  of  Hyksos  Wall        .  .218 

Shrine  of  Bast  on  Statue  of  Admiral  Hor     .         .  220 

Admiral  Hor— 650  b.c.       .         .         .         .  .220 

The  Mound  of  Onaias       .....  222 

The  Large  Mound — Burru  Yusef  .         .         .  222 

The  Ancient  Ruins — Burru  Yusef         .         .         .  227 

The  Ancient  Brick  Wall— Burru  Yusef         .         .  227 

Staircase— Mound  of  Onaias       ....  229 

The  Storehouses — Three  of  the  "Pits  of  Joseph"    .  229 

Trial-Piece— Burru  Yusef  ....  232 

Trial-Piece — Burru  Yusef  (Obverse)      .         .         .  232 

Inscribed  Ears  of  Pot       .....  238 

Inscription  of  Sinaitic  Miners — Serabit  .         .  238 


BIBLICAL  REFERENCES 


PAGE 

98 

(rinvRcsm  xii  14  S5  56. 

PAGE 

77,  229 

Heb.  vii.  3, 

63 

xlvi  fi-11 

.  108 

Mark  xiv.  3,  . 

191 

28-29,  . 

109,  129 

1  Chron.  vi.,  . 

99 

34 

.  142 

2  Chron.  xii.  2, 

97 

T^ATATT  TCIX  13 

77 

Deut. 

i.  1,       .  . 

87 

18-lQ  208 

215,  216 

Exodus  i.  8,  . 

110 

TtT'DU'TW  villi 

O  HitiirjS/L.  Aim.,       .  . 

104 

>> 

iv.  20,  . 

85 

TrfcCXTTT  A   iv  1 

0KJOt±\J  A.  125..    i-^f      •  • 

63 

)) 

V.  15,  . 

241 

,,  XUl., 

49,  50 

>> 

vi.  24,  . 

1  IVIriGs  IX.  ZO,  . 

86 

)) 

xii., 

211 

,,        AlV.  ^Of 

97 

>> 

xii.  37, 

170,  172 

^  JjLlJNbtO  A.V11.  ^U— "lA,  • 

74 

)) 

xiii.  20, 

82,  172 

AAltl.  . 

100 

>» 

xiv.  2,  . 

82 

^TTH/r'RTi''RC!  I 

Xl|  U  iVli>£.l&o  1.  ,            .  . 

88 

j> 

xiv.  3,  21,  . 

83 

iii  22 
,,       111.  , 

90 

>> 

XV.  4,  22,  27, 

84  87 

,,       xvi.  49,  . 

90 

>» 

xvi.  1,  . 

84 

, ,       xxi.  4,  . 

87  944. 

j> 

xvii.  1,  11,  . 

86,  89 

, ,       XXV.  9,  . 

xxxii.,  . 

244 

XXVI., 

EzEKiEL  viii.  14, 

65 

,,            AAAlll.    L\Jf  X^, 

>> 

XXX.  17, 

77 

1  ft  A  Twm?r  1 

X  kjAJuUXilj  1.,           t  . 

QQ 

Genesis  xii.  10, 

228 

,,             VIJ.  ^, 

98 

>) 

xiv., 

.  229 

„      viii.  12, 

.  148 

>> 

xvi.  7,  14,  . 

.  84 

xiii.  14,  16, 

97,  98 

}> 

XXV.  18, 

84 

2  Samuel  v.  4,  5-7,  . 

.  98 

>) 

xxviii.  10-19, 

.  73 

„      vi.  2, 

.  98 

7 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  AND 
THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


I 

THE  WORK,  METHODS,  AND  EXPERIENCES  OF 
THE  EXCAVATOR 

There  is  perhaps  no  work  which,  for  its  successful 
completion,  demands  higher  qualifications,  or  more 
intense  concentration,  than  the  work  of  the  excavator. 
An  accurate  knowledge  of  all  past  records  of  the 
country's  history,  and  of  discoveries  up  to  date,  is 
absolutely  essential,  and  with  that  must  go  also  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  results  of  archaeology 
in  other  lands,  especially  those  with  which  commercial 
and  political  relations  are  known  to  have  existed  in  the 
past.  Indeed  the  wider  the  excavator's  fund  of  general 
knowledge,  the  more  successful  he  is  likely  to  be.  He 
has  to  know  a  little  of  everything — of  stones  and 
metals ;  of  languages  and  religion ;  of  surveying  and 
levelling ;  of  the  anatomy  of  the  human  body ;  of  the 
action  of  different  chemicals  upon  different  substances  ; 
and  above  all  he  must  be  possessed  of  a  keen  power  of 
observation,  and  if  possible  of  more  than  an  average 
share  of  common-sense. 

It  will  be  greatly  to  the  excavator's  advantage  also, 

9 


10     THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


in  time,  money,  and  efficiency,  if  he  is  a  thoroughly 
practical  man,  and  can  apply  his  hand  to  the  building 
of  his  own  hut,  the  making  of  cases,  and  the  actual 
work  of  digging  as  well,  for  otherwise  he  cannot  know 
when  a  place  is  exhausted,  or  the  work  done  properly. 
There  are  things  which  the  merest  tyro  can  do,  but  the 
results  will  be  meagre  and  colourless  if  there  be  no 
master  mind  at  his  back  to  link  the  details  into 
an  inductive  chain  that  leads  to  the  establishment 
of  some  historical  facts.  The  work  is  no  haphazard 
work,  and  in  proportion  to  the  meagreness  of  the 
excavator's  knowledge  and  ability,  the  greater  will 
be  the  risk  of  loss  in  historical  results.  What  in 
the  hands  of  the  expert  would  prove  the  keystone 
of  the  arch,  might  be  passed  over  and  lost  by  the 
unqualified. 

There  are  other  essentials  which  go  to  the  equip- 
ment of  the  successful  explorer.  He  must  know  exactly 
what  link  in  the  chain  of  history  he  wants  to  discover. 
Past  work  may  have  pointed  to  a  certain  conclusion,  for 
the  establishing  of  which  some  details  of  confirmation 
are  still  wanting.  He  must  know  where  these  details 
are  most  likely  to  be  found,  and  must  choose  his  site 
accordingly.  Or  from  his  knowledge  of  the  past  history 
of  a  site,  that  has  been  identified,  he  will  arrange  the 
lines  on  which  his  work  is  to  proceed.  In  either  case 
he  comes  to  a  site  with  some  knowledge  of  what  he 
may  expect  to  find,  gathered  from  past  history  recorded, 
though  it  by  no  means  follows  that  he  may  find  what 
he  expects.  It  is  therefore  equally  essential  that  he 
approach  his  w^ork  without  the  slightest  bias,  and  with- 
out any  preconceived  theory,  to  which  he  is  immovably 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  11 


chained.  Though  he  may  ardentl}^  hope  for  certain 
results,  he  must  be  prepared  for  surprises,  and  according 
to  Dr  Flinders  Petrie,  who  speaks  from  many  years' 
experience,  surprises  are  the  rule  and  not  the  exception. 
His  mind  must  consequently  be  ever  on  the  alert,  and 
his  power  of  observation  whetted  to  the  keenest  possible 
edge.  He  must  not  only  see  what  he  wants  to  see,  but 
he  must  be  prepared  to  give  full  value  also  to  those 
details,  which  appear  somewhat  unexpected  and  discon- 
certing. In  other  words,  if  he  has  a  preconceived  idea 
of  the  site,  he  must  be  ready  to  sacrifice  it  at  any 
moment.  He  has  to  put  himself  unreservedly  in  the 
hands  of  his  site,  so  to  speak,  and  allow  it  to  lead  him 
to  the  secret  of  history  which  it  conceals.  As  often  as 
not,  it  will  be  the  opposite  of  what  he  expects,  but  it 
will  always  be  interesting.  His  faculty  of  elimination 
and  induction  he  is  thus  continually  called  on  to 
exercise,  and  it  is  here  that  past  knowledge  and 
experience  enable  him  to  assign  to  each  detail  its  true 
historic  value. 

Though  large  finds,  such  as  fine  pieces  of  sculpture, 
statuary,  furniture,  or  jewellery,  are  of  the  utmost  value, 
and  indeed  used  to  be  sought  after  almost  to  the  entire 
neglect  of  the  little  things  which  were  thus  often  heed- 
lessly passed  over  or  destroyed,  it  is  quite  clear  that  the 
explorer,  who  would  seek  to  reconstruct  the  life  of  a 
people,  cannot  afford  to  neglect  even  the  most  insig- 
nificant things  which  would  throw  light  on  their 
manners  or  customs.  The  clearing  out  of  a  refuse  heap, 
or  lumber  room,  or  a  middle-class  cemetery,  is  produc- 
tive of  far  more  valuable  historical  assets  than  the 
finely  furnished  chamber  tomb  of  a  wealthy  family 


12     THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


might  afford,  and  when  it  comes  to  the  real  work  of 
building  up  the  history  of  the  past,  the  practised 
explorer  knows  which  he  would  prefer. 
Huts  or  Having  secured  his  site,  along  with  the  necessary 
Tents.  permit  from  the  Government,  which  keeps  matters  right 
with  the  local  officials,  the  excavator  must  come  pro- 
vided with  such  things  as  a  prolonged  stay  at  a  dis- 
tance from  European  civilisation  may  render  neces- 
sary for  his  work  and  comfort.  The  site  itself  will 
determine  whether  he  is  to  build  huts  or  pitch  tents. 
If  there  is  the  ruin  of  an  ancient  town  near  at  hand,  it 
is  advisable  to  erect  huts  of  the  bricks.  Usually  the 
wall  of  the  temple  or  some  large  building  of  the  old 
town  will  serve  as  an  excellent  back-wall,  and  to  this  he 
can  build  on  as  many  rooms  as  he  needs  with  the 
minimum  of  expense.  While  exploring  the  prehistoric 
cemetery  of  Nagada  in  1894-5  we  lived  in  huts  of 
bricks  from  an  eighteenth  dynasty  town  close  by,  built 
against  the  wall  of  a  temple  which  had  been  erected 
there  by  Thothmes  III.  The  ordinary  sands  of  the 
desert  made  an  excellent  floor,  and  a  reed  mat  sus- 
pended from  the  lintel  served  as  a  door.  Strong  cane 
bedsteads  and  flock  mattresses  can  be  purchased  from 
the  natives  for  a  trifling  sum.  At  Rameses  (Retabeh) 
in  1906  similar  huts  were  built  against  the  ancient 
wall  of  the  storehouse  fort  of  bricks,  which  the 
Israelites  may  have  had  a  hand  in  making.  These 
huts,  though  very  dusty,  are  more  comfortable  than 
tents,  being  cooler  in  the  hot  season,  and  affording 
more  warmth  in  the  wet  months.  Where  bricks  can- 
not be  easily  secured,  the  example  of  the  natives  may 
be  followed,  and  a  hut  built  of  discarded  water  jars 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  13 


cemented  together  by  the  adhesive  mud  of  the  country 
At  Nuffar,  in  Babylonia,  where  the  explorers  reside  for. 
years  at  a  stretch,  their  house  is  known  to  the  natives 
as  the  "  castle,"  and  is  a  handsome  two-storied  building 
after  the  usual  oriental  design,  built  entirely  of  bricks 
of  Naram-Sin,  a  king  who  reigned  about  3800  B.C.,  and 
most  of  them,  if  not  all,  bearing  his  name  stamped 
upon  them. 

In  Upper  Egypt  there  is  little  or  no  winter,  but  in  Climate 
the  Delta  during  December  and  January  one  may  ex- 
perience storms  of  wind  and  rain,  which  are  startling 
enough  when  one's  comfort  depends  on  a  thin  canvas 
tent  and  the  tenacity  of  loose  sand  to  keep  it  from 
collapsing,  or  even  on  a  brick  hut,  whose  roof  may  fly 
off  at  any  moment. 

In  1905  we  began  work  in  Goshen  with  the  idea 
that  the  worst  weather  we  should  have  to  face  would 
be  no  worse  than  what  we  might  experience  on  any 
summer  day  at  home,  but  we  were  speedily  disillusioned. 
We  were  on  the  edge  of  the  desert  of  Suez  with  no 
shelter  whatever  such  as  trees  or  rising  ground  around 
us  might  afford.  Our  dining-room  was  a  hut  made  of 
pieces  of  galvanised  iron  roofing  stuck  in  the  sand, 
strapped  together  at  the  top  by  wire,  and  roofed  over 
with  loose  pieces  of  the  same  material,  so  open  that 
every  wind  whistled  through  it.  Our  bedroom  was  an 
ordinary  army  bell  tent. 

On  December  12th  the  clouds  began  to  look  black 
in  the  north,  but  we  thought  little  of  it.  Without  any 
warning,  however,  there  came  a  strong  gust  of  wind, 
and  it  came  to  stay.  It  brought  rain  with  it,  of  course, 
rain  such  as  must  have  gladdened  the  farmers*  hearts, 


14      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


though  it  chilled  ours.  At  first  the  novelty  was  amus- 
ing, but  speedily  it  became  serious.  One  after  the 
other  of  the  pieces  of  iron  on  the  roof  of  our  hut  sud- 
denly picked  itself  up  and  fled  a  considerable  distance 
over  the  sand,  leaving  us  with  a  view  of  the  sky  which 
at  any  other  moment  might  have  been  interesting 
and  agreeable,  but  which  was  then  far  from  pleasant. 
During  dinner,  what  time  he  was  not  needed  in  the 
hut,  our  cook  spent  in  excitedly  chasing  these  pieces  of 
galvanised  iron  over  the  desert,  and  fetching  them  back 
to  replace  them  on  the  roof  with  a  crash,  and  the  serious 
view  which  he  took  of  the  matter  was  really  the  re- 
deeming of  the  situation  for  us.  The  noise  of  the 
rattling  iron  with  the  whistling  of  the  wind  made  it 
almost  impossible  to  hear  a  word  we  addressed  to  each 
other  across  the  upturned  box  which  served  as  a  table. 
In  fact,  we  could  do  nothing  but  laugh  at  the  excite- 
ment of  the  cook  and  the  novelty  of  our  position,  where 
we  had  to  dine  with  one  eye  on  the  table  and  the 
other  on  the  roof,  lest  at  any  moment  a  piece  of  it 
should  fall  inwards  instead  of  indulging  in  aerial  flight. 
Cold  is  not  the  way  to  describe  it,  though  the  tempera- 
ture was  still  two  or  three  degrees  above  freezing-point. 
In  contrast  with  the  previous  warmth,  it  was  cold  with 
a  chill  that  ground  our  bones,  and  it  rained  so  as  no 
clothing  could  keep  us  many  minutes  dry.  Certainly 
we  were  surprised — and  the  tent !  We  practically  dis- 
pensed with  undressing  for  that  night,  for  we  never 
expected  that  either  pegs  or  ropes  could  withstand  the 
steady  blast.  Just  as  the  first  grey  streaks  of  dawn 
appeared  in  the  east,  one  of  our  "  too  "  collapsible  bed- 
steads with  its  occupant  came  to  the  floor  with  a  crash, 


OUR  CAMP — BELBEYS 

p.  14 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  15 


and  lay  half  buried  in  the  contents  of  two  cases  that 
stood  on  end  and  served  as  shelves,  that  side  of  the 
tent  having  given  way  to  the  wind.  For  the  next  half- 
hour  it  was  a  keen  struggle  with  the  blast,  the  inflated 
tent  every  moment  threatening  to  escape  us.  While 
we  clung  to  the  canvas  inside,  seven  or  eight  men  hung 
on  to  the  ropes  outside,  and  gradually  succeeded  in 
securely  driving  the  pegs  into  the  sand,  which  now 
thoroughly  soaked  held  them  as  in  a  vice,  and  once 
more  established  our  dwelling.  By  an  hour  or  two 
after  sunrise  the  storm  had  spent  itself,  and  we  soon 
found  ourselves  in  what  to  us  was  charming  summer 
weather. 

It  is  only  one  of  the  few  discomforts  of  what  is  other- 
wise an  enchanting  life,  and  the  compensations  of  being 
alone  in  the  desert,  communing  with  the  shades  of  men 
and  women  that  have  added  their  contributions  to 
history  some  few  thousand  years  ago,  are  so  many  and 
so  various  that  they  far  outweigh  the  momentary 
annoyance  of  such  an  experience,  or  even  the  all  too 
frequent  discomfort  of  having  a  dog-fight  at  your  ear 
the  whole  night  through  with  only  a  thin  canvas  sheet 
between  you  and  them. 

One  of  the  first  essentials  in  the  practical  work  of  The 
excavation  is  a  conversational  knowledge  of  the  language  g^^ge 
of  the  country.  In  Egypt,  Babylonia,  and  Palestine  the 
Arabic  spoken  by  the  peasants  is  very  rapidly  acquired. 
It  practically  amounts  to  the  employment  of  roots 
01  stems  with  the  minimum  of  respect  for  inflection 
and  grammatical  details.  The  more  literary  Arabic 
spoken  by  the  educated  classes,  though  useful  in 
interviewing  officials  occasionally,  it  is  not  necessary 


16      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


to  acquire,  since  most  of  these  are  familiar  with 
French. 

Native  The  head  official  is  always  courteous  and  pleasant  to 
Officials.  ^^^^  with.  It  is  the  minor  official  who  occasionally 
gives  trouble.  The  position  of  Omdeh,  or  Provost  of  his 
village,  while  it  gives  prominence  to  a  man  and  makes 
him  the  represennative  of  the  Government,  carries  no 
remuneration  with  it,  and  is  sometimes  used  by  its 
holder  as  a  means  of  raising  money  in  the  shape  of 
''bakshish."  In  other  words,  the  Omdeh  will  sometimes 
put  obstacles  in  the  way  of  one's  work,  and  come 
offerino-  to  remove  them  for  a  small  consideration.  For 
this  purpose  he  will  employ  some  friend  to  play  the 
part  of  obstruction,  and  the  two  will  share  the  bakshish 
paid  to  him  for  rescuing  the  victim.  When  we  came 
to  explore  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  town  of  Goshen,  the 
Omdeh  of  the  modern  village  on  the  site  informed  us 
that  the  ruins  had  become  the  private  property  of  his 
nephew  by  purchase  from  the  Government,  and  that 
in  consequence  our  work  could  not  proceed.  In  such  a 
case,  where  authentic,  the  usual  method  is  to  pay  the 
owner  a  sum  agreed  on,  and  continue  the  work.  We 
decided  to  interview  the  Mudir  of  Zagazig  on  the 
matter,  but  when  we  did  so  he  declared  himself  unable 
to  say  whether  the  Government  had  sold  the  ruins  or 
not !  Having  no  great  desire  to  explore  another  town 
site  with  a  cemetery  so  near,  we  resolved  to  transfer  our 
attention  immediately  to  the  sandy  gezireh  close  by, 
which  we  suspected  to  be  a  cemetery  of  the  Israelite 
period,  and  which  we  knew  was  not  the  private  property 
of  any  one.  On  the  first  day  of  our  work,  however, 
while  we  were  engaged  in  removing  our  tents  from  the 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  17 


town  site,  one  of  the  workmen  came  in  breathless  haste 
to  tell  us  that  work  on  the  cemetery  had  been  stopped 
by  order  of  the  Omdeh  of  Suwa,  the  next  village,  whom 
we  found  supported  by  a  band  of  ugly-looking  fellows 
armed  with  clubs  to  terrorise  our  men.  The  Omdeh,  a 
crafty  little  fellow  with  an  evil  squint  in  his  eye,  told 
us  the  gezireh  was  the  property  of  his  village  and  must 
not  be  touched.  The  game  had  evidently  been  trans- 
ferred to  his  hands,  and  its  object  was  apparently  the 
extraction  of  a  few  pounds  of  bakshish.  We  cleared 
him  off  the  ground  gently,  but  in  utter  discomfiture, 
and  his  friends  slunk  away,  evidently  amazed  at  the 
turn  of  events.  How  he  restored  his  dignity  among 
them  we  never  enquired.  He  rode  away  in  high 
dudgeon,  threatening  to  go  to  the  Mudir  for  power  to 
remove  us.  His  visit  to  the  Mudir  probably  explains 
it,  but,  whatever  the  cause,  he  became  from  that  day 
our  most  devoted  friend.  The  Arab  respects  nothing 
so  much  as  firmness  and  decision  of  character,  and  he 
gives  his  whole-souled  admiration  to  the  man  who  can 
outplay  him  with  his  own  weapons.  He  considers  a 
European  fair  game,  will  do  his  utmost  to  cheat  him, 
and  if  he  succeed,  his  success  will  only  augment  the 
contempt  which  he  already  has  for  their  insane  trust- 
fulness, ignorance,  prodigality,  and  general  incapacity. 
If,  however,  in  the  act  of  cheating  he  finds  himself 
outwitted  and  exposed  to  ridicule  by  the  deeper 
scheming  of  his  intended  victim,  he  will  have  an  un- 
dying respect  for,  and  will  probably  deal  squarely — as 
squarely  as  it  is  possible  for  an  Arab — ever  after  with 
the  man  who  was  clever  enough  to  outmanoeuvre 
him. 

B 


18      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Excava-  If  the  work  happen  to  be  within  easy  distance  of  a 
Presence  excavator  may  enjoy  the  comforts  of  home 

Essential,  life.  As  a  rule,  however,  he  must  be  prepared  to  rough 
it  to  a  considerable  extent.  As  the  site  is  usually  a 
few  miles  into  the  desert  from  the  nearest  town,  a 
weekly  visit  on  the  market,  or  "  sookh,"  day  for  provisions 
is  all  that  can  be  accomplished.  It  is  never  expedient 
to  live  at  a  distance  from  the  work.  It  not  only  leads 
to  very  unsatisfactory  supervision,  but  gives  the  natives 
on  the  spot  the  opportunity  of  looting  during  the  night ; 
and  though  a  night-watchman  be  employed  he  will  only 
do  his  work  faithfully  if  a  watch  is  set  upon  himself,  or 
he  will  make  an  arrangement  with  the  local  natives  for 
his  own  profit.  Results  are  never  so  valuable  and 
reliable  when  the  excavator  is  not  on  the  spot  con- 
tinually. When  objects  are  uncovered,  these  must  be 
sketched  and  recorded  in  position  before  the  men  can 
proceed  further  with  their  work,  and  if  there  is  no  one 
at  hand  to  do  this  they  must  remove  them.  An  im- 
portant discovery  may  thus  be  second-hand  to  the 
excavator  himself,  and  rest  solely  on  the  word  of  an 
Arab  workman,  which  is  by  no  means  satisfactory.  The 
excavator  must,  in  fact,  be  at  the  call  of  his  workmen 
every  moment  of  the  day,  and  any  carelessness  or 
indifference  on  his  part  will  speedily  communicate  itself 
to  them.  There  is  only  one  case  where  this  is  not  of 
vital  importance,  and  that  is  in  excavating  a  site  which 
has  been  previously  looted,  where  the  position  of  the 
objects  on  this  account  cannot  form  a  certain  basis  of 
inference. 

"Rough-      The  explorer  must,  therefore,  be  prepared  for  the 
rough  and  tumble  life  of  the  desert.    He  may  choose 


NINEPINS,  4500  B.C. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  19 


to  subsist  on  tinned  foods  from  home,  or  he  may  buy 
meat,  bread,  and  vegetables  from  the  nearest  town. 
There  are  many,  doubtless,  who  could  never  accommodate 
themselves  to  dining  on  the  bottom  of  an  upturned 
deal  box,  sleeping  on  a  cane  bedstead  with  only  a  three- 
inch  flock  mattress,  in  a  room  with  nothing  in  the 
shape  of  furniture  except  a  few  rough  packing  cases, 
with  the  finest  sand  for  a  carpet,  and  only  a  reed  mat 
suspended  to  serve  as  door,  just  as  there  are  some  who, 
having  travelled  first-class  all  their  lives,  cannot  bring 
themselves  to  travel  second  or  third  ;  but  the  fact  is 
the  charm  of  the  life  is  so  all-absorbing,  so  enchanting, 
that  one  drops  into  the  routine  of  these  things  uncon- 
sciously, and  is  never  aware  of  the  slightest  discomfort. 
It  is  entirely  an  outdoor  life.  Night  and  day  the 
excavator  breathes  the  pure  air  of  heaven.  The  desert 
is  bracing,  and  the  appetite  in  consequence  needs  no 
delicacies  to  tempt  it.  "  Eoughing  it "  is  no  correct 
description.  It  should  be  described  rather  as  a  return 
to  the  primitive,  a  tonic  of  which  our  present  generation, 
with  its  over-eating  and  neglect  of  exercise,  stands  very 
much  in  need. 

If  he  feels  the  need  of  invigoration  by  a  change  of  side- 
occupation,  the  explorer  can  spend  a  day  of  indescribable  i^iterests. 
pleasure  in  a  walk  of  twenty  or  thirty  miles  round  the 
other  sites  in  his  neighbourhood  ;  or,  if  he  is  in  Upper 
Egypt,  he  can  indulge  in  that  most  delightful  of 
pursuits,  the  hunting  for  evidences  of  prehistoric  man 
in  the  shape  of  flint  tools  and  weapons  on  the  top  of 
the  highest  sand  cliffs.  Owing  to  the  clearness  of  the 
atmosphere  distance  is  very  deceptive  in  Egypt.  The 
jellow  cliffs,  which  appear  to  be  only  two  or  three  miles 


20     THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 

off,  may  in  reality  be  ten  or  twenty  miles  distant,  but 
walking  in  the  dry  atmosphere  and  under  the  blazing 
sun  is  by  no  means  so  oppressive  and  exhausting  as 
walking  in  the  damp  climate  of  our  own  country.  At 
Nagada,  in  1895,  in  the  course  of  a  twenty  miles'  walk 
on  the  top  of  the  cliffs  with  Dr  Flinders  Petrie,  our 
party  picked  up  a  large  quantity  of  prehistoric  flints, 
some  of  them  very  fine  specimens  of  flint  axes,  and  all, 
probably,  of  the  same  period  as  the  fine  flint  knives  and 
spears  which  we  were  finding  in  the  graves  in  the  valley 
below.  Perhaps  nothing  can  compare  with  such  a  day's 
experience,  either  in  interesting  results,  or  in  invigora- 
tion  and  mental  stimulus.  Strange  to  say,  on  the  top 
of  these  cliffs,  where  we  least  of  all  expected  it,  the 
first  thing  we  noted  was  a  small  circular  spot  of  moist 
sand  with  a  succulent  green  plant  in  the  heart  of  it 
— the  water  by  some  means  or  other  finding  its 
way  to  a  height  of  1500  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
Nile. 

As  a  rule,  however,  the  work  itself  supplies  all  the 
stimulant  necessary.  The  continual  inpouring  of  fresh 
finds  day  by  day  gives  sufficient  novelty  to  keep  the 
interest  ever  alert  and  the  faculties  at  fullest  stretch. 
To  discover  in  the  course  of  clearing  a  few  graves  in  an 
afternoon,  that  the  children  of  prehistoric  Egypt,  more 
than  four  thousand  years  before  Christ,  played  the  same 
game  of  Ninepins  known  to  ourselves,  that  the  ladies 
wore  ornamental  ivory  combs  much  as  ladies  still  wear, 
that  their  domestic  utensils  show  a  taste  and  finish 
quite  comparable  with  our  own,  and  that  their  orna- 
mental stone  vases  possess  a  grace  and  finish,  in  spite  of 
the  rude  tools  at  their  disposal,  which  puts  our  work  to 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  21 


the  blush  with  all  our  advantages  of  machinery,  and  to 
find  alongside  of  these  the  elegant  flint  knives  and 
tools  on  which  they  mainly  depended,  is  a  revelation 
that  demands  a  very  serious  and  sudden  alteration  of 
one's  mental  standpoint,  supplies  considerable  food  for 
reflection,  and  irresistibly  drives  one  to  the  conclusion, 
that  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun,  and  that  in  a 
sense  it  may  be  said,  that  the  progress  of  evolution  has 
been  from  the  best  downwards. 

Methods  of  Work.  —  The  nature  of  the  site  Mounds 
must  determine  the  method  with  which  the  ex-  gjte^^^ 
cavator  is  to  attack  it.  In  the  case  of  the  large 
mounds  in  Babylonia,  where  it  would  demand  a 
vast  expenditure  of  money  to  examine  the  site 
thoroughly,  there  is  always  a  temptation  to  acquire  as 
much  information  as  possible  by  tunnelling  through 
them,  though  it  may  prove  a  disastrous  experiment.  It 
is  difficult  to  distinguish  between  mere  accumulation  of 
mud  by  the  decay  of  bricks,  and  the  remains  of  an 
ancient  wall  of  some  building.  One  may  be  tunnelling 
through  the  temple  library  of  cuneiform  tablets  at  one 
point,  and  through  absolutely  unproductive  rubbish  at 
the  next,  and  the  finished  work  can  afford  no  definite 
outline  of  the  original.  In  excavating  a  mound,  whose 
various  layers  represent  the  deposits  of  succeeding 
civilisations,  the  recognised  method  is  to  begin  on  the 
top  and  remove  layer  after  layer,  recording  each  as  the 
work  proceeds.  Thus  on  the  summit  may  be  found 
potsherds  and  objects  of  Eoman  date,  beneath  that  a 
layer  of  material  of  the  Greek  period,  and  below  that 
again  succeeding  layers  of  deposits  representing  various 
stages  in  the  history  of  the  site,  until  the  original  and 


22      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


oldest  is  reached.  An  exceedingly  clever  piece  of  work 
was  done  by  Dr  Flinders  Petrie  at  Lachish  some 
years  ago.  Having  no  time  left  to  thoroughly 
explore  the  mound  there  in  the  above  manner,  he 
cut  a  slice  down  the  side,  and  by  picking  out  the 
potsherds  exposed  at  the  different  levels,  he  dated 
each  succeeding  period  of  civilisation.  Afterwards, 
when  Mr  Bliss  thoroughly  explored  it,  he  found  that 
his  results  confirmed  Dr  Petrie's  conclusions  in  every 
instance. 

In  Babylonia  the  same  site  was  used  again  and  again 
at  different  periods,  so  that  a  town  ruin  there  stands 
often  many  feet  above  the  level  of  the  plain.  It  was 
desirable  not  only  to  be  raised  above  the  inundation 
level,  but  also  to  avoid  encroachment  upon  the  valuable 
land  by  appropriating  new  sites  continually.  In  Egypt 
they  do  not  seem  to  have  reused  old  sites  with  the  same 
freedom,  or  their  towns  passed  through  greater  vicissi- 
tudes ;  but  whatever  the  reason,  a  town  site  in  Egypt 
never  shows  the  same  height  of  accumulation  as  in 
Babylonia.  The  Egyptians  built  largely  on  the  low 
sandy  gebel  that  skirts  the  edge  of  the  arable  land. 
They  were  careful,  also,  to  bury  in  the  same  unproduc- 
tive soil,  preserving  as  far  as  possible  all  the  land  under 
the  inundation  level  for  agricultural  purposes.  In  many 
cases,  through  the  rise  of  the  Nile  level,  it  has  happened 
that  a  town  originally  built  on  the  edge  of  the  desert 
stands  now  in  the  heart  of  cultivated  land.  Sharhanba 
is  a  case  in  point.  The  ruins  now  stand  in  the  midst  of 
cultivated  fields,  though,  in  Roman  times  even,  the  town 
must  have  been  quite  close  to  the  desert,  for  they  would 
never  have  carried  the  sand  for  the  sand-wall  which 


IVORY  SPOONS  AND  HARPOONS,  C.   4500  B.C.— NAGADA 

p.  23 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  23 


they  built  round  it  over  the  two  miles  of  cultivation 
that  now  intervenes.  This  lower  gebel  being  valueless 
for  cultivation,  the  Egyptians  had  much  more  freedom  in 
the  choice  of  sites  for  town  or  village,  and,  consequently, 
we  do  not  find  traces  of  the  same  unbroken  occupation 
as  in  Babylonia. 

Usually,  unless  there  has  been  a  temple  or  other 
large  buildings,  a  town  site  is  unprofitable  in  results, 
the  most  valuable  parts  often  being  lumber-rooms, 
cellars,  or  rubbish  heaps.  The  clearing  of  it  thus 
amounts  practically  to  a  selection  of  the  parts  which 
are  likely  to  yield  results  of  value,  removing  the  earth, 
and  depositing  it  where  it  will  be  least  likely  to  prove 
an  obstruction  afterwards.  The  expense  in  turning 
over  the  whole  site  would  in  very  few,  if  any,  cases  be 
justified  by  the  results.  Evidences  of  its  various  occupa- 
tions can  be  picked  up  in  any  portion,  and  the  materials 
found  form  a  tolerably  safe  clue  to  the  nature  and  value 
of  what  remains  unearthed. 

In  the  case  of  a  cemetery,  if  of  very  early  date,  there  is  Ceme- 
only  one  method  to  be  adopted.  The  men  must  work 
side  by  side  right  through  it  from  the  extreme  edge, 
leaving  not  an  inch  of  ground  unturned,  and  filling  up 
behind  them  as  they  go.  When  objects  of  late  date, 
which  are  already  well  known,  and  which  add  nothing 
new  to  the  knowledge  of  their  period,  begin  to 
repeat  themselves  constantly,  and  where  time  and 
funds  are  limited,  this  thorough  method  has  some- 
times to  be  replaced  by  partial  excavation  and 
judicious  selection  of  the  most  promising  portions  of 
the  site.  In  this  class  of  work  the  excavator  must 
be  on  the  spot  continually.    He  must  see  and  record 


24      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


every  object  in  position,  and  he  must  remove  everything 
and  measure  the  work  at  regular  short  intervals,  in 
order  that  the  men  may  be  free  to  fill  up  behind  them 
at  once. 

One  of  the  first  things  to  decide  is  whether  the 
cemetery  has  been  previously  disturbed  or  not.  The 
filling  will  show  this  clearly,  and  it  naturally  follows 
that  the  portions  tampered  with  are  greatly  diminished 
in  value  as  evidence.  Where  objects  of  a  very 
early  date  are  found  among  surroundings  of  a  much 
later  period,  it  is  obvious  that  the  former  have 
been  found,  reused,  and  reburied  by  people  of  a  later 
generation. 

If  the  site  has  never  been  touched  before,  it  is 
absolutely  essential  to  locate  exactly  the  position  of 
every  article  found,  and  to  record  each  as  minutely  as 
possible.  Every  grave  is  numbered,  and  the  number 
indelibly  written  on  everything  found  in  it.  Thus  at 
any  time  by  reference  to  photographs  or  drawings,  the 
whole  may  be  reconstructed.  Nothing  is  wantonly 
thrown  aside  or  disregarded,  and  naturally  unique  finds 
are  most  highly  treasured. 
Fragiles.  The  removal  and  preservation  of  fragiles  is  one  of 
the  most  delicate  and  interesting  pieces  of  work  that 
falls  to  the  hand  of  the  excavator,  and  the  rebuilding 
of  a  fine  vase  from  its  thousand  fragments,  though 
tedious,  is  an  absorbing  task  whose  success  well  repays 
the  time  spent  on  it.  Probably  no  one  has  done  more 
in  the  way  of  successfully  preserving  and  rebuilding 
fragiles  than  Dr  Flinders  Petrie.  He  has  rescued  by 
skill  and  patience  many  valuable  specimens  which,  had 
they  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  less  painstaking  explorer, 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  25 


would  have  been  lost  for  ever.  An  object,  which  will 
fall  to  pieces  if  moved,  may  be  taken  out  complete  by 
pouring  melted  wax  into  the  loose  sand  around  it,  and 
removing  the  whole  lump  when  it  has  solidided.  Large 
specimens  of  pottery  have  frequently  been  preserved 
and  safely  transmitted  by  encasing  them  in  several 
layers  of  brown  paper  glued  together.  In  this  way 
many  fragile  specimens  of  slipper-shaped  pottery  coffins 
have  been  brought  home  from  Babylonia  intact.  The 
only  alternative  is  to  remove  the  fragments,  most 
carefully  numbericg  each  one,  so  that  the  whole 
can  be  rebuilt  afterwards. 

In  the  case  of  inscriptions  the  best  method  of  Inscrip- 
securing  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  surface  of  the 
stone  is  by  taking  a  paper  squeeze.  Paper  may  be 
used  dry  or  wet,  and  is  pressed  by  a  brush  till  a  per- 
fect impression  of  the  stone's  surface  is  left  upon  it. 
Had  this  been  done  in  the  case  of  the  famous  stele  of 
Mesha,  King  of  Moab,  when  it  was  first  discovered,  the 
inscription  might  have  been  in  our  hands  intact, 
and  the  blasting  of  the  stone  with  gunpowder  by 
the  natives  would  not  have  so  much  affected  its 
historical  value. 

From  this  brief  survey  it  will  be  seen  that  the  work 
of  excavation  is  by  no  means  a  sinecure,  but  one  which 
calls  for  the  incessant  concentration  of  one's  energy, 
both  physical  and  mental.  From  sunrise  to  sunset  the 
excavator  is  continually  in  the  field,  observing,  record- 
ing, and  measuriog,  with  the  exception  of  two  hours  at 
midday,  the  hottest  part  of  the  day.  At  sunset  he  has 
to  receive  the  objects  brought  in  by  the  men  and 
appraise  their  market  value  ;  for  it  has  proved  the  most 


26     THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


satisfactory  arrangement,  not  only  to  pay  the  men  for 
their  manual  labour,  but  also  at  the  close  of  each  day 
to  purchase  their  finds  from  them  at  the  value  which  a 
local  dealer  would  set  upon  them.  This  saves  them 
from  the  temptation  to  secrete  valuable  objects  with 
the  purpose  of  selling  them  to  the  dealers,  who  are 
always  hovering,  like  vultures,  around  the  site,  and 
effectually  secures  them  for  the  excavator.  Many 
naturally  object  to  this  principle  on  the  ground  of  ex- 
pense, but  when  we  recollect  that  to  pay  a  foreman  to 
watch  the  men  is  only  equivalent  to  setting  a  thief  to 
catch  a  thief,  and  realise  how  impossible  it  is  to  prevent 
the  men  from  appropriating  their  smaller  and  more 
valuable  finds  if  so  inclined,  we  are  convinced  that  it  is 
the  only  practical  way  to  deal  with  the  lax  morality  of 
the  people  and  to  be  certain  of  securing  absolutely 
everything  of  value  which  is  found  on  the  site.  The 
few  spare  hours  in  the  evening,  or  on  the  weekly 
market  day,  afford  the  only  opportunity  of  marking  all 
objects  in  ink,  and  of  keeping  photographic  work  up- 
to-date. 

The  The  work  itself  needs  no  word  of  justification.  The 

Charm  of  j-Qgui^g  already  attained,  the  pages  of  history  now  filled 
Work.  which  would  otherwise  have  remained  blank,  are  suffi- 
cient justification  of  the  outlay  of  money  and  energy,  as 
well  as  more  than  abundant  reward  to  the  excavator 
for  the  privations  he  may  endure  or  the  risks  he  may 
run.  Outside  of  a  chemical  laboratory  or  an  observa- 
tory, probably  no  work  in  the  world  is  so  fascinating. 
Every  day  brings  its  fresh  store  of  surprises.  Every 
day  adds  a  fresh  complication  to  the  problems  awaiting 
solution.     Every  day  brings  further  revelations  of  the 


WOOD  AND  IVUHY  lO.MBS,   4500  B.C.— NAGADA 


ALABA>iTERS,  4500  B.C. — NAGADA 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  27 


life  and  habits  of  the  wonderful  people  who  lived  several 
thousand  years  ago,  and  lived  on  so  much  higher  a 
plane  than  their  successors  do.  The  advance  and 
decline  of  every  branch  of  civilisation  is  not  the  only 
lesson  learnt.  Daily  it  is  borne  in  upon  one,  that  no 
race  seems  capable  of  sustaining  for  any  length  of  time 
its  highest  standard  of  art,  literature,  or  morals,  but 
that  no  sooner  has  a  race  given  its  best  and  highest  to 
the  world,  than  the  pre-eminence  in  civilisation  seems 
immediately  to  pass  from  it  to  some  other  nation.  This 
truth  has  been  illustrated  perhaps  more  than  once  in 
the  history  of  Egypt.  The  great  civilisation  of  the 
first  four  dynasties  passed  away,  but  after  many  years 
revived  again  in  a  measure  in  the  rulers  of  the  twelfth 
dynasty.  This  again  was  obliterated  by  the  Hyksos 
dynasties,  but  was  renewed  once  more  under  the  power- 
ful and  energetic  monarchs  of  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  dynasties.  Then  comes  another  period  of  de- 
cadence from  the  twentieth  dynasty  onwards,  and  finally 
another  faint  resuscitation  of  the  glorious  past  by  the 
rulers  of  the  thirtieth  dynasty,  who  modelled  on  the 
twelfth.  But  whatever  period  one  happens  to  strike  in 
the  course  of  excavation,  the  civilisation  which  one  un- 
earths is  far  ahead  of  anything  which  Egypt  can 
lay  claim  to  at  this  moment.  Indeed,  what  adds^ 
piquancy  to  the  work,  apart  from  the  undoubted 
antiquity  of  the  things  unearthed,  is  the  strange 
contrast  between  the  present  above-ground  and  the 
buried  past.  One  has  only  to  look  at  the  faces  of 
such  Pharaohs  as  Thothmes  III.,  Rameses  II.,  or 
Amenhotep  IV.  (Akhenaten),  to  feel  that  these  were 
men  who  had  energy,  power,  aspirations,  and  ideak 


28      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


far  above  average  humanity ;  but  if  you  look  in 
the  faces  of  their  modern  representatives  for  traces 
of  their  unquestionable  greatness,  or  search  the  present 
for  reminiscences  of  their  past  glory,  you  will  look 
in  vain. 


II 


SYRIA  AND  PALESTINE  BEFORE  THE  EXODUS,  FROM 
EGYPTIAN  MONUMENTS 

One  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  records  of  Syria  and 
exploration  work  in  Egypt  is  that  which  throws  light 
upon  the  relations  existing  between  that  country  and 
Syria,  and  indirectly  restores  to  us  a  portion  of  the  his- 
tory of  Syria  and  Palestine,  which  w^ould  have  otherwise 
been  entirely  lost  to  us. 

From  the  earliest  times  these  two  countries  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  going  to  Egypt  for  corn  and  pasture,  but 
until  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  1587  B.C.  downwards,  we 
have  no  evidence  of  political  relations  having  existed 
between  them,  whether  of  alliance,  war,  or  conquest. 
Most  of  the  kings  of  that  dynasty,  however,  appear  to 
have  conducted  campaigns  in  Syria,  some  of  them  con- 
quering the  land  as  far  as  Assyria  and  Babylonia,  and  it 
is  from  their  records  of  these  campaigns,  with  the  lists 
of  peoples  and  places  subdued,  that  we  are  able  to  recon- 
struct something  of  the  history  of  Syria  and  Palestine 
before  the  occupation  of  the  latter  by  the  Israelites. 

The  subjoined  is  a  list  of  the  kings  of  the  eighteenth 
dynasty,  with  the  dates  of  their  respective  reigns  as  cal- 
culated by  Petrie : — 

29 


30      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


1.  Aahmes 

c. 

1587  B.C. 

2.  Araenhotep  I. 

1562  „ 

3.  Thothmes  I.  . 

1541  „ 

4.  Thothmes  II. . 

1516  „ 

5.  Hatshepsut  . 

J) 

1503  „ 

6.  Thothmes  III. 

j» 

1503  „ 

7.  Amenhotep  II. 

j> 

1449  „ 

8.  Thothmes  IV. 

)j 

1423  „ 

9.  Amenhotep  III. 

)) 

1414  „ 

10.  Amenhotep  IV.  (Akhenaten) 

1383  „ 

11.  Ra-smenkh-ka 

» 

1365  „ 

12.  Tut-ankh-amen 

5) 

1353  „ 

13.  Ay       .        .  . 

1344  „ 

14.  Hor-em-heb  . 

c.  1332 

-1328  „ 

The  thirteen  kings,  Hatshepsut  having  acted  as 
Queen-regent,  thus  cover  a  period  of  260  years,  during 
the  whole  of  which  the  Israelites  occupied  Goshen,  so 
that  we  may  call  this  the  Israelite  period. 
Aahmes.  Aahmes  was  the  conqueror  of  the  Hyksos.  He 
took  their  fort  Avaris,  and  expelled  them  from  Egypt. 
In  his  pursuit  of  them  he  took  Sharhana,  or  Sharuhen, 
some  miles  south  of  Lachish  in  Palestine,  penetrated 
Zahi  (Phenicia),  and  then  returned  home,  subduing  the 
Mentiu  Setet,  or  Bedawin  of  the  hill  country,  on  the 
way.  The  biography  of  the  admiral,  Aahmes,  of  this 
reign  gives  a  full  account  of  this  expedition.  The  rest 
of  the  reign,  and  of  his  son's,  show  no  signs  of  further 
activity  abroad,  and  were  probably  spent  in  the  work  of 
consolidation  at  home.  But  from  the  date  of  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Hyksos  the  activity  of  Egypt  in  the  East 
begins. 


W  H  ATT 

or  KHITA 
DUNIP  (TANEPU) 

KHILBU 

(HALEB) 


NYI 

(NINA) 


KEDINA? 
o 

PALMYRA 
o  (TADMOR) 

O  ATIRO  ? 


oTIMASHGI 


K^ALUNNI 

^  oKHINNATUNI 


oBUZRUNA 


SALIM 


RI  (hebroh) 


SYRIA 

of  TA.UTTERS. 


SHARHANA? 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  31 


Thothmes  I.  (1541-1516)  conquered  all  Syria  up  to  Thoth- 
the  Euphrates,  and  erected  his  stele  of  victory  in  ^' 
Naharaina,  or  Upper  Mesopotamia.  As  the  biographies 
of  Aahraes  and  Pen-nekheb,  who  accompanied  him  as  an 
official,  show,  he  seems  to  have  gone  to  Naharaina  to 
punish  a  rebel,  and  this  implies  that  the  country  had 
been  conquered  before  him,  probably  by  Amenhotep  I., 
though  no  record  of  it  has  been  found.  The  Rutennu, 
whom  he  conquered  on  his  way,  are  the  people  of  the 
hill  country  of  Northern  Palestine.  The  stele  erected 
by  Thothmes  III.  some  years  later  "  alongside  of  that  of 
Thothmes  I.,"  as  he  says,  shows  that  Thothmes  1.  con- 
quered the  country  as  far  as  the  town  of  Niy,  on  the 
Euphrates,  near  Aleppo. 

Thothmes  II.  did  not  extend  the  conquests  of  his  Thoth- 
father,  and  Thothmes  III.  (1503-1449)  merely  main- f^^|y^^^- 
tained  the  prestige  of  his  predecessors.  He,  however, 
made  many  expeditions  into  Syria,  and  as  he  caused  an 
account  of  these  to  be  inscribed  on  a  tablet  in  the  temple 
which  he  built  for  the  god  Amen,  we  possess  a  very  full 
record  of  them.  In  his  twenty-second  year  (b.c.  1481)  he 
set  out  from  the  city  of  Zalu  on  a  punitive  expedition,  and 
came  to  Sharuhen.  On  the  twenty-third  anniversary  of 
his  coronation  he  was  at  Gazatu  (Gaza),  from  which  place 
he  proceeded  to  Yehem  ( Yemma,  S. W.  of  Megiddo).  We 
next  find  him  at  Makata  (Megiddo),  where  the  Kharu 
(Syrians)  and  the  Qedshu  (men  of  Qedesh)  were  en- 
camped against  him  under  the  chief  of  Qedesh.  These 
he  defeated  on  the  plain  of  Esdrselon,  and  his  annals 
give  an  elaborate  account  of  the  rout.  The  Syrians  took 
refuge  in  Megiddo,  leaving  their  horses  and  chariots  ot 
silver  and  gold  on  the  battlefield,  being  themselves  hauled 


32      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


into  the  city  over  the  walls  by  their  clothing.  Had  his 
men  not  given  themselves  over  to  the  spoils  of  the  field, 
Megiddo  might  have  been  taken  at  once,  but  it  was 
seized  soon  after,  and  the  Syrian  chiefs  are  portrayed 
on  their  knees  and  faces,  "  smelling  the  ground,"  and 
begging  for  the  breath  of  their  nostrils.  Not  only 
Megiddo,  but  the  three  storehouses  of  the  chief,  Yenuamu, 
Anaugasa,  and  Harnekaru,  were  plundered,  and  the 
spoils  were  enormous  both  in  amount  and  value.  There 
were  chariots  mounted  in  gold  and  silver,  suits  of 
armour,  beautiful  vases,  goblets  of  gold,  chairs,  inlaid 
tables  and  footstools,  and  many  other  things,  all  of  Syrian 
workmanship.  This  is  distinctly  a  most  valuable  part 
of  the  information  left  us  by  Thothmes  III.  The  spoils 
and  tributary  gifts,  which  the  Syrians  are  represented  as 
bringing  in  their  bands,  show  that  at  this  early  period 
(B.C.  1480)  Syria  was  not  only  wealthy  but  possessed  of 
a  civilisation  and  of  arts  which  were  nowise  inferior  to 
those  of  Egypt ;  Avhile  the  figures  depicted  may  be 
regarded  as  faithful  portraits  of  the  Syrian  type  of  the 
period.  Among  the  materials  mentioned  as  tribute  are 
malachite,  gold,  silver,  bronze,  lapis  lazuli,  ivory,  ebony, 
and  kharub  wood.  These  latter  they  inlaid  with  gold 
and  precious  stones.  A  frequently  recurring  article  of 
their  manufacture  is  the  staff  with  a  human  head  of 
gold,  or  of  ivory,  ebony,  or  kharub  wood  inlaid  with 
gold.  Perhaps  what  the  Egyptians  set  most  store  on 
was  their  supply  of  lapis  lazuli.  Every  tribute  contains 
a  quantity  of  it.  2500  men,  women,  and  children  were 
carried  away  as  slaves. 

In  the  twenty-ninth  year  of  his  reign  (B.C.  1474)  he 
made  his  fifth  expedition  into  Syria,  and  on  this  occasion 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  33 


he  subdued  the  Rutennu,  Tunep,  Aruta  (Arvad),  and 
Zahi  (Phenicia).  Among  the  spoils  of  Phenicia  are 
slaves,  horses,  oxen,  goats,  silver  cups,  incense  of  honey, 
wine  vases,  copper,  lead,  lazuli,  green  felspar,  bread,  and 
fruits  of  the  land. 

In  the  following  year  he  is  again  among  the  Rutennu, 
inhabitants  of  the  hill  district  north  of  Galilee,  and 
captures  the  city  of  Qedeshu  (Qedesh).  In  the  tribute 
of  the  Rutennu  are  included  the  sons  of  the  princes  and 
their  brothers,  who  were  sent  to  Egypt  as  hostages  and 
perhaps  for  their  education  ;  chariots  adorned  with  gold 
and  silver,  and  provided  with  weapons  ;  bulls,  bullocks, 
oxen,  goats  ;  copper,  gold,  lead,  and  copper  eamngs 
engraved  with  horses.  The  harvest  of  the  Rutennu 
consisted  of  various  corns,  wheat,  barley,  incense,  oil, 
W'ine,  and  fruit. 

In  the  thirty-third  year  (c.  1470  B.C.)  he  set  up  his 
tablet  of  victory  in  Naharaina  (Upper  Mesopotamia), 
whose  tribute  consisted  chiefly  in  slaves,  mares,  bulls, 
calves,  goats,  incense  jars,  and  chariots  equipped.  Silver 
vases  "  made  in  Phenicia "  are  also  mentioned.  Ap- 
parently the  people  of  this  part  were  not  skilled  workers 
in  the  precious  metals,  perhaps  because  these  were  not 
plentiful,  but  they  were  manifestly  farmers  or  Bedawin. 
On  his  way  home  he  encountered  the  Khita  (Hittites), 
from  whom  he  took  tribute  of  eight  silver  rings  weighing 
301  deben  (c.  60  lbs.),  white  precious  stones,  and  zagu 
wood. 

For  the  next  year  he  records  an  expedition  into  Zahi 
with  spoils  similar  to  the  previous,  but  he  records  also 
an  amazing  tribute  from  the  Rutennu  for  the  same  year, 
viz.  horses  ;  chariots  adorned  in  gold,  silver,  and  colours  ; 
c 


34      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


slaves;  5  5  deben  gold  (11  lbs.);  silver  vases;  all 
kinds  of  gems;  80  native  copper  blocks;  11  blocks 
of  lead;  100  deben  (20  lbs.)  colours;  incense,  felspar, 
alabaster  ;  69  copper  vases  ;  2080  jars  of  oil ;  608  jars 
of  wine  ;  cattle,  etc. 

In  tbe  thirty-fifth  year  the  spoils  from  Zahi  and 
Anaugasa  include  bronze  suits  of  armour,  bronze  helmets, 
spears,  shields,  bows,  and  quivers. 

The  inscription  of  Amen-em-heb,  an  officer  of  this 
king,  gives  further  information  regarding  these  con- 
quests. It  mentions  Karika-masha  (Carchemish)  as 
captured,  and  relates  how  the  king  hunted  120  elephants 
near  Niy,  on  the  Euphrates,  for  their  tusks. 

From  the  annals  of  Thothmes  III.,  we  are  thus  driven 
to  the  conclusion  that  at  the  period  c.  B.C.  1481-14G«0 
Syria  enjoyed  a  civilisation  at  least  equal,  and  in  some 
respects  superior,  to  that  of  Egypt.  From  this  date 
Egypt  seems  to  be  to  some  extent  under  the  influence 
of  Syria.  Though  the  Egyptians  had  come  into  close 
contact  with  other  foreign  races  before,  this  is  the  first 
occasion  on  which  we  can  see  a  strong  foreign  influence 
laying  hold  of  them,  and  it  manifests  itself  not  only  in 
the  importing  of  their  productions,  but  in  the  imitation 
of  their  arts.  According  to  Petrie,  coats  of  mail  were 
unknown  in  Egypt  before  the  capture  of  Megiddo. 
There  Thothmes  secured  a  large  number  of  them,  and 
from  that  time  coats  of  mail  are  regularly  depicted  on 
their  tombs.  Similarly,  gilded  chariots  were  unknown 
in  Egypt  until  much  later,  and  even  then  were  confined 
to  royalty  ;  but  in  the  spoils  of  Megiddo  and  succeeding 
tributes  there  are  mentioned  two  gold-plated,  thirty 
mounted  in  gold  and  silver,  nineteen  inlaid  with  silver, 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  35 


and  many  adorned  with  gold,  silver,  and  colours.  This 
points  to  opulence  unequalled  in  Egypt,  and  the  gold 
and  silver  vases  depicted  bear  out  the  same  fact.  Not 
only  were  gold  and  silver  abundant  in  the  country,  but 
the  people  themselves  appear  to  have  excelled  the 
Egyptians  in  the  skill  and  artistic  taste  with  which  they 
handled  them,  as  well  as  the  other  precious  metals  at 
their  disposal ;  so  much  so,  that  specimens  of  their 
handiwork  were  evidently  much  sought  after  in  Egypt, 
and  a  tide  of  Syrian  imitation  set  in.  There  is  one 
channel  by  which  their  civilisation  must  have  influenced 
Egypt.  In  eleven  campaigns  no  fewer  than  8000 
captives  and  slaves  are  said  to  have  been  carried  off  to 
Egypt.  There  cannot  be  much  doubt  which  class  of 
people  the  Egyptian  would  prefer  in  a  tribute  of  slaves. 
He  might  take  the  sons  of  their  chiefs  as  hostages,  but 
the  majority  of  the  slaves  would  be  skilled  artisans,  who 
would  impart  their  skill  to  Egyptian  workmen,  and 
would  also  supply  the  Pharaoh  in  Egypt  with  the 
specimens  of  their  handicraft  which  he  so  greedily 
coveted  and  seized  in  Syria.  ^  4^  a 

Dr  Petrie  says  that  from  this  date  Syrian  influence  ^y,^  C^a^ 
can  be  traced  even  in  the  features  of  succeeding  genera-  ^"^^^f^ 
tions,  especially  in  the  upper  classes.     Large  numbers  f'^  .  -  \^ 
of  women  were  among  the  captives,  and,  soon  after,  it  \  '   jt'^  '  . 
became  quite  usual  for  the  Pharaoh  and  leading  princes , 
to  marry  princesses  from  S3n'ia,  as  we  learn  from  the  CM-^"^  ^ 
Tell  el  Amarna  Letters.  ^"^  ^^Cx 

Thus  we  see  that  in  the  fifteenth  century  B.C.  the 
whole  of  Syria,  including  what  was  later  known  as 
Palestine,  was  in  a  very  prosperous  position.  It 
abounded  in  valuable  metals,  wood,  and  precious  stones. 


86      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


and  appears  to  have  been  cultivated  to  a  large  extent. 
Its  people  were  famous  for  their  skill  and  taste  in 
working  these  metals,  especially  in  Phenicia,  as  well  as 
for  their  personal  charm  and  attractiveness.  When  the 
Egyptians,  more  skilled  in  warfare,  subdued  them, 
thousands  of  Syrian  men  and  women  were  drafted  down 
into  Egypt,  chosen  for  their  skill  in  handicraft,  and  for 
their  comeliness.  The  skilled  artisans  would  be  em- 
ployed at  their  crafts,  and  the  women  entering  Egyptian 
families  would  impart  their  Syrian  language  and  ideas 
to  their  children,  and  so  it  may  be  considered  no 
strange  thing  that  by  and  by  Semitic  words,  idioms, 
and  thoughts  should  be  transfused  throughout  Egyptian 
literature,  and  the  delicate  features  of  the  Semitic  race 
should  gradually  show  themselves  in  a  softening  and 
refinement  of  the  Egyptian  cast  of  countenance 
— a  fact  which  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the 
portraits  of  Egyptians  of  the  better  class  preserved 
to  us. 

We  have,  however,  to  bear  in  mind  that  at  this  time 
Egypt  was  in  every  respect  at  a  very  low  ebb  (com- 
paratively speaking)  of  civilisation,  just  recovering,  in 
fact,  from  the  baneful  thraldom  of  the  Hyksos,  who  had 
recently  been  expelled.  During  the  occupation  of  the 
latter,  which  had  continued  for  511  years,  the  energy  of 
the  Egyptians  had  been  spent  almost  solely  in  warding 
off  their  aggressions  and  confining  them  to  the  Delta,  so 
that  the  fine  arts,  and  even  agriculture,  were  bound  to 
suffer.  That  this  was  so,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  in 
the  eighteenth  dynasty  Egypt  was  compelled  to  import 
corn  from  surrounding  countries,  though  previously  it 
had  served  as  the  corn  emporium  of  its  neighbours. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  37 


Thus  we  find  a  regular  tribute  of  corn  demanded  by 
Thothmes  III.  from  Syria,  and  150,000  bushels  were 
taken  from  Megiddo.  In  later  days  Egypt  once  more 
became  the  corn  depot  of  the  east. 

Such  is  the  beginning  of  what  has  been  called  thevx 
semiticising  of  Egypt,  traceable  in  its  language,  its 
statuary,  flat-relief  work,  the  designs  and  patterns  of  its 
manufactures  and  furniture ;  in  its  beads,  dress,  and 
mode  of  dressing  the  hair ;  and  even  in  its  writing, 
which  in  its  old  stiff,  thick,  hieratic  form  had  under- 
gone no  change  for  thirty  centuries,  but  now  became 
"  thin,  flowing,  and  flourishing."  Here  also  we  are 
probably  to  find  the  germ  of  the  demoralisation  of 
Egyptian  art  and  culture.  Enthralled  by  Syrian  in- 
fluence, the  Eg3'ptian,  having  abandoned  his  own 
individuality,  is  henceforth  in  a  continual  state  of  flux, 
drifting  from  one  innovation  to  another,  from  one  ideal 
to  another,  and  not  all  the  efforts  of  later  dynasties  to 
bring  about  an  archaic  revival  and  lead  the  Egyptian 
back  to  the  old  ideals  which  formerly  animated  him, 
were  able  to  stem  the  tide  of  deterioration  which  set 
in  with  this  conquest  of  Syria  and  culminated  in  the 
hopeless  degradation  of  all  Egyptian  arts  in  the  Greek 
period. 

In  all,  a  list  of  1 1 9  places  in  Upper  Ruten,  or  North 
Palestine,  are  mentioned  by  Thothmes  III.,  and  his 
monuments  give  three  versions  of  the  list.  These 
places  have  been  cleverly  identified  by  Petrie,  some 
with  certainty,  some  with  a  great  measure  of  proba- 
bility, and  his  discussion  of  them  may  be  found  in 
the  Appendix  to  vol.  ii.  of  his  history.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  selected  list  of  the  more  important  identifi- 


38      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


cations,  in  the  order  given  by  Thothmes  III.,  and  so 
indicating  the  scope  and  direction  of  his  movements 
in  Palestine  : — 


Places  and  Identifications 


Galilee. 


Damas- 
cus to 
Beyrout. 

Tiberias 
back  to 
Me^ddo. 


12. 
13. 

19. 
20. 

26. 
27. 
28. 

31. 
34. 
88. 
41. 
43. 


58. 
60. 


Qedshu — Qedesh  or  Qadas,  near  Lake  Homs,  on 

the  Orontes. 
Mageta — Megiddo,  19  miles  S.E.  of  Haifa. 
Then  follow  several  in  the  vicinity  of  Nazareth  and 

Akka. 
Marma — Lake  Merom. 
Tamesqu — Damascus. 
Then  several  near  Damascus. 
Baarutu — Beyrout. 

Mazna — Madon,  5  miles  W.  of  Tiberias. 
21-25,  places  near  Tiberias. 
Qaanau — Waters  of  Qana,  near  Megiddo. 
A'aruna — Ararah  (?),  near  Megiddo. 
Astartu — Asteroth  Karnaim,  21  miles  E.  of  Sea  of 
Galilee. 

Liusa — Laish,  in  Dan,  11  miles  N.  of  Merom. 
Genartu — Kinneroth,  near  Tiberias. 
Shenama — Shunem,  Solam,  7  miles  S.  of  Nazareth. 
Geb'a.  Suan — Geba,  near  Nazareth. 
Yeblamu — Ibleam,  modern  Yebla,  17  miles  E.  of 
Megiddo. 

42-56  are  all  in  vicinity  of  Megiddo. 
Ashu.  Shekhen — Plain  of  Shechem. 
Yerza  —  Yerzeh    (modern),    11   miles    N.E.  of 
Shechem. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  39 


28-61  thus  belong  to  an  expedition  across  Jordan 
into  Bashan,  back  to  Galilee  and  Nazareth, 
thence  to  vicinity  of  Megiddo  and  Shechem. 
62.  Yefu — Yafa,  Joppa. 
71.  Magtal— Migdal,  13  N.N.E.  of  Gaza. 
76.  Hudita — Haditheh,  3  miles  E.  of  Ludd. 
80.  Geruru  —  Gerar,  modern  Jerrar,  6  miles  S.  of 
Gaza. 

88.  Aqar — Ekron,  4  miles  E.  of  Jamnia  (Yehema). 
96.  Qareman — Carmel,  modern  Kurmul,  7  miles  S. 
of  Hebron. 

104.  Qaziru — Gezer,  16  miles  S.E.  of  Joppa. 

109.  Baarutu — Beeroth,  modern  Bireh,  a  few  miles  N. 

of  Jerusalem. 

110.  Bat-shar — Beth-sura,  modern  Beit  Sur,  4  miles 

N.  of  Hebron. 

111.  Bat-anta — Beth-anoth,  modern  Beit-ainun,  3  miles 

N.N.E.  of  Hebron. 

112.  Khalqetu — Kilkis  (modern),  2  miles  S.S.W.  of 

Hebron. 

113.  'An-Qena — 'Ain  el  Qana,  1  mile  N.W.  of  Hebron. 

Amenhotep  11.  (1449-1423)  made  a  tour  of  his 
father's  conquests  in  Syria,  chiefly  to  check  any  attempt 
at  rebellion  against  the  new  sovereign.  In  his  second 
year  we  find  him  at  Arseth  (Harosheth  on  the  Kishon), 
and  at  My  on  the  Euphrates.  From  Takhsi,  near 
Aleppo,  he  carried  away  seven  chiefs,  struck  down  by 
his  own  mace,  and  these  were  hung  by  the  feet  over 
the  prow  of  his  vessel  on  the  way  home.  Six  of  them 
were  afterwards  hung  up  in  the  same  way  before  the 
walls  of  Thebes,  a  proceeding  which  suggests  barbarity 


40      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


inconsisteut  with  Egyptian  culture  and  civilisation  in 
other  respects. 

Thothmes  IV.  (1423-1414  B.C.)  paid  a  similar  visit 
to  Syria,  but  his  reign  adds  no  substantial  information. 

Amenho-      For  the  two  succeeding    reigns,   Amenhotep  III. 

^^dVv.-  (1414-1379  B.C.)  and  Amenhotep  IV.  (1383-1365  B.C.), 

d5Snarn  great  authority  is  the  Tell  el  Amarna  Letters. 

Letters.  Though  there  is  no  extant  record  of  any  campaign  in 
Syria,  we  have  some  information  regarding  the  reign  of 
the  former  from  his  temple  at  Soleb,  in  Ethiopia. 
Round  its  columns  are  depicted  figures  of  captives  from 
the  various  peoples  that  were  subject  to  Amenhotep  III. 
The  following  is  the  list,  with  Petrie's  identifications  of 
the  names  accompanying  the  figures  : — 

Sengar — Singara,  W.  of  Nineveh. 
Naharain — Upper  Euphrates,  both  sides. 
Khita — Hittite  country,  north  end  of  Syria. 
Kedesh — near  Lake  Homs  (Damascus  region)  (?) 
Tanepu — Tunip,  Teunib. 

Akarita — Ugarit,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes. 
Kefa — North  Phenicia. 
Karkamish — Carchemish. 
Assur — Assyria. 

Aphthena — Aphadena,  E.  of  Chaboras. 
Makuuatsh — Maguda,  E.  of  Euphrates. 
Kedina — Katanii,  E.  of  Palmyra. 
Aaro  or  Atiro — Atera,  S.W.  of  Palmyra. 
Punt — Punda,  W.  of  Euphrates. 
Shasu — Bedawin. 

Thyta — probably  the  land  of  Queen  Thyi. 
Arerpaka — Arrapakhitis^  N.E.  of  Nineveh. 


BAARUTU 


BAALBEK o 

(HclJopolis) 


SHEMANAU 
^BESMAMUN 


AQIDI 


SIDON 


(IGAID) 
^  AUBlLo 
(ABILA) 


TYRE 


TAMESQU  <^ 
LIUSA  (LAISH) 


MIGDADo 

(MAQATA) 

RAFAH  o 
(amnu-refaa) 

ASTARTU 

0(ASHTEROTH) 


YEFUi 

(yafa) 


rLUODo 


fASKALUNA 
MAGTAL 


oGAZA 
oGERURU 

(GERAR) 


,AUANAU 


©HUDITA 


QAZIRU 
O  (GEZER) 


AN-qENA  oBAT-ANTA/(beth-|anotm) 
^OHEBROM 

'KMALX3ETU 

oQAREMAN 
(CARMEL) 


PALESTINE 

undcrThothmesBI 
and  succeeding  Kin^5 


p.  40 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  41 


As  will  be  seen  from  a  study  of  the  localities  indicated, 
the  above  list  practically  implies  that  under  Amenhotep 
III.  the  boundaries  of  Egypt  embraced  all  the  lands 
around  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  the  desert  of  Pal- 
myra, Northern  Syria  up  to  Aleppo,  and  the  rest  of 
Syria  and  Palestine.  As  this  is  the  largest  extent  of 
Egyptian  power  ever  known,  Amenhotep  III.  must 
have  added  considerably  to  the  conquests  of  his  pre- 
decessors. The  people  of  Kefa,  Khita,  Sengar,  Atiro, 
Karkamish,  Assur,  Aphthena,  and  Makuuatsh  are  de- 
picted with  a  fillet  and  long  hair.  The  others  have 
close- cut  hair  and  no  fillet. 

Palestine  and  Syria  were,  therefore,  at  this  time 
entirely  under  the  dominion  of  Egypt,  and  apparently 
quite  satisfied.  The  T.A.  Letters  show  that  there  was 
constant  interchange  of  good  feeling  between  the  princes 
of  the  countries.  They  also  explain  how  this  came 
about.  The  Egyptian  princes  had  married  Syrian 
princesses,  and  sons  of  the  Syrian  chiefs  had  been 
brought  to  Egypt  to  be  educated  and  to  serve  as  hos- 
tages, since  the  days  of  Thothmes  III.  Xo  doubt  many 
of  the  latter  had  taken  Egyptian  wives  home  with 
them,  but  all  of  them  would  be  so  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  Egyptian  spirit  as  to  be  quite  contented  with 
their  yoke. 

Dr  Pinches  says  that  if  this  were  so,  it  is  strange 
that  they  should  afterwards  have  corresponded  with  the 
Egyptians  in  cuneiform,  a  language  equally  foreign  to 
both.  But  two  facts  stand  out  clear.  One  is,  that  the 
Egyptians  must  have  known  cuneiform  in  order  to 
read  the  T.A.  Letters  ;  and  the  other,  that  the  Syrians 
were  at  this  period  strongly  Egyptian  in  their  sym- 


42      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


pathies,  and  vice  versa,  whatever  may  have  brought  it 
about. 

Amenhotep  III.  himself  married  two  Syrian  wives, 
and  his  successor  one.  The  chief  wife  of  Amenhotep, 
Queen  Thyi,  is  also  believed  to  have  been  a  Semite  of 
Syrian  origin,  and  she  played  a  powerful  part  in  the 
history  of  her  time,  acting  as  Regent  for  Akhenaten  in 
his  minority,  as  we  see  from  letters  addressed  to  her 
after  the  death  of  Amenhotep.  Her  influence  over  both 
husband  and  son  seems  to  have  been  decidedly  Syrian, 
and  there  is  evidence  that  in  her  husband's  time  the 
Syrian  cult  of  Aten,  the  Sun's  disc,  was  already  known. 
This  cult  Akhenaten  afterwards  tried  to  establish  as  the 
national  religion. 
The  Tell  The  T.  A.  Letters  are  written  in  cuneiform  on  clay 
Letters,  tablets,  and  addressed  to  Amenhotep  III.  and  IV.  by 
the  various  chiefs  of  Syrian  towns  and  districts  subject 
to  Egypt.  Many  are  simply  the  regular  official  reports 
expected  of  them,  but  the  majority  are  special  appeals 
for  assistance  in  some  emergency.  One  or  two  are 
letters  addressed  to  Syrian  chiefs  by  the  Pharaoh,  and 
three  are  messages  sent  by  princesses  to  their  kinsfolk 
in  Egypt,  along  with  the  official  despatches.  These 
latter  are  simple  words  of  kindly  greeting  and  good 
wishes.  The  story  of  these  tablets  since  their  discovery 
is  a  record  of  pitiful,  bungling  incompetency.  They  had 
been  deposited  in  "  The  place  of  the  records  of  the 
palace  of  the  King,"  as  it  was  named  on  the  bricks 
found  by  Dr  Petrie  in  Tell  el  Amarna,  and  natives, 
while  carrying  away  bricks  of  Akhenaten  for  their 
modern  houses,  came  upon  this  record  chamber  contain- 
ing many  hundreds  of  tablets.     They  were  shown  to 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  43 


dealers,  and  to  two  leading  experts,  but  no  one  recog- 
nised their  value,  and  one  of  the  latter  declared  them 
forgeries.  Finally,  many  of  them  were  carried  to  Luxor 
in  sacks,  being  mostly  ground  to  dust  on  the  way,  and 
through  the  dealers  there  they  found  their  way  to  re- 
cognition. What  has  been  saved  is  only  a  fraction  of 
the  original,  consisting  of  about  267  letters,  which  are 
now  for  the  most  part  in  the  British  and  Berlin 
Museums. 

In  the  Letters  Amenhotep  III.  is  addressed  by  his 
Egyptian  name,  Neb-maat-ra,  which  in  cuneiform 
appears  in  the  various  forms,  Nimmuria,  Nammuria, 
Kimmutriya,  Nipmuaria,  Nibmuaria,  Nimuwaria,  or 
Nimmuria,  while  his  successor,  Nefer-kheperu-ra  (Ak- 
henaten),  is  addressed  as  Naphkuriya,  Naphkuriria, 
Niphkuriria,  Naphkururiya,  Naphkuraria.  So  many 
variations  sufficiently  show  that  not  much  reliance  can 
be  placed  in  cuneiform  versions  of  foreign  names. 

The  Letters  have  been  conveniently  divided  into 
three  classes  by  Dr  Petrie  : 

L  Letters  of  the  Peace — 106. 
II.  Those  dealing  with  the  North  Syrian  War — 119. 
III.  Those  dealing  with  the  South  Syrian  War — 42. 

I.  All  the  letters  of  this  class  belong  to  the  last  five 
years  of  Amenhotep  III.,  c.  1383-1879  B.C.,  during 
which  period  his  son,  Akhenaten,  was  associated  with 
him  on  the  throne. 

(1)  The  Khatti  or  Hittites. — There  are  three  letters 
in  this  group  from  Hittite  Kings,  of  whom  Tarkhunda- 
raush  alone  is  named.  He  sends  immense  tribute  of 
gold,  ivory,  lead,  precious  stones,  and  woods,  and  requests 


44      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


a  daughter  of  Nimutriya  to  wife.  The  letters  show 
that  at  this  time,  c.  1380  B.C.,  the  Hittites  were  con- 
fined to  the  mountainous  region  of  Igaid,  which  is 
identified  with  Lebanon  or  Antilebanon,  the  name 
being  perhaps  still  preserved  in  the  modern  'Ain  Yakut 
(Yagud)  on  the  old  pass  between  Damascus  and  Beyrout 
(Pet.);  and  they  were  evidently  anxious  to  enjoy  an 
alliance  with  Egypt. 

(2)  Khanigalbat  of  Mitanni — Aram  Naharaim. — 
Nine  of  this  period  are  from  Dushratta,  King  of  Mitanni 
— five  to  Amenhotep  III.,  one  to  Queen  Thyi,  and  three 
to  Akhenaten. 

Mitanni  bordered  on  the  land  of  the  Hittites,  and  in 
one  letter  Dushratta  announces  that  he  has  repelled  an 
inroad  made  by  them  on  his  territory,  so  that  they 
appear  to  be  already  on  the  aggressive.  He  sends  a 
chariot  and  horses,  a  lad  and  a  girl,  of  their  booty  as 
tribute  to  Nipmuaria,  along  with  a  pair  of  gold  breast 
ornaments,  gold  earrings,  and  a  jar  of  oil  as  gifts  to 
Gilukbipa,  his  own  sister,  who  was  the  wife  of  the 
Pharaoh  (Nipmuaria).  In  another  letter  he  agrees  to 
send  a  daughter  for  the  Pharaoh's  son,  but  asks  a 
present  of  gold  in  return.  With  the  messenger  he  at 
the  same  time  sends  a  gold  goblet  set  with  lazuli,  a 
necklace  of  twenty  lazuli  beads  and  nineteen  gold  beads, 
the  middle  being  lazuli  beads  cased  in  gold,  a  neck- 
lace of  forty  "  khulalu  "  stones  and  forty  gold  beads, 
twenty  horses,  ten  chariots,  and  thirty  women.  The 
daughter,  Tadukhipa  by  name,  was  afterwards  sent, 
and  became  the  wife  of  Akhenaten,  known  in  Egypt  as 
Nefer-titi.  The  back  of  this  letter  is  docketed  the 
thirty-sixth   year  of  Amenhotep   III.,  which  being 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  45 


his  last,  fixes  the  date  of  the  correspondence  as 
c.  1379  B.C. 

In  one  of  his  letters  to  Naphkuriria  (Akhenaten), 
Dushratta  informs  him  that  Thothmes  IV.  had  obtained 
a  daughter  from  his  grandfather,  Artatama,  only  after 
the  seventh  application,  and  his  father,  Amenhotep  III., 
had  received  Gilukhipa  from  his  father,  Shutarna,  only 
on  the  sixth  applicatioD,  while  he  had  sent  Tadukhipa 
to  him  at  once  ;  but  though  Nimmuria  had  promised 
him  gold  it  had  never  found  its  way  to  Khanigalbat. 
He  sends  a  message  of  sympathy  over  the  death  of 
Nimmuria  (Amenhotep  III.). 

In  these  few  letters  Dushratta  gives  us  an  interesting 
glimpse  of  his  own  personal  history  and  that  of  his 
country.  That  his  grandfather,  Artatama,  and  his 
father,  Shutarna,  could  persistently  refuse  to  send 
daughters  to  the  Pharaoh,  while  he  not  only  sent  his 
at  once  but  sent  a  present  as  well,  shows  that  they 
possessed  a  spirit  of  independence  and  a  power  which 
evidently  he  could  not  afford  to  exhibit.  With  the 
ordinary  craft  of  the  Oriental,  he  never  sends  a  present 
except  with  the  expressed  hope  of  as  good  a  return,  and 
he  even  drags  in  his  unoffending  spouse,  Yuni,  as  a 
suitable  object  for  the  generosity  of  the  Egyptian 
sovereign.  From  the  ungenerous  return  of  the  Pharaoh 
we  gather  that  he  regarded  the  presents  of  Dushratta 
as  the  tribute  of  a  dependent.  Beyond  doubt,  the 
whole  of  i^orthern  Syria,  up  to  Aleppo  and  the  Euphrates, 
was  at  this  time  completely  under  Egyptian  control 
(1380  B.C.). 

(3)  Ten  letters  are  from  Kallima-sin  and  Burnaburiash, 
kings  of  Karduniash  (Babylonia),  showing  a  similar 


46      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


relation  of  dependence  on  Egypt.  Eight  from  Alashia 
(Cyprus)  show  that  active  commercial  intercourse  existed 
between  Egypt  and  Cyprus  at  this  time,  the  chief 
exports  from  Cyprus  being  copper,  horses,  wood,  and 
ivory,  and  the  imports  most  in  request,  silver,  ushu  " 
wood,  garments,  and  oil. 

The  rest  of  these  106  letters  are  from  governors 
of  smaller  towns  or  districts,  and  deal  with  unimportant 
details.  Some  of  the  places  mentioned  are  interesting. 
The  Prince  of  Taruna  (Toran,  near  Tiberias)  sends 
obeisance  ;  Artamanya  of  Ziri-bashani  (plain  of  Bashan) 
offers  military  service ;  Abtirshi  of  Khazura  (Hazor) 
says  he  guards  Hazor ;  Puaddi  of  Wurza  (Yerzeh,  near 
Shechem)  guards  his  land  ;  Abdmilki  of  Shaskimi 
(Abedmelech — servant  of  Moloch)  offers  service ;  Yitia 
of  Asqaluna  (Askelon),  Yabni-ilu  of  Lakisha  (Lachish), 
and  Zimrida  of  Lakisha  write  similarly ;  Yabitiri  of 
Azzati  (Gaza)  refers  to  his  sojourn  as  a  youth  at 
Pharaoh's  court  and  announces  his  fidelity.  He  guards 
Gaza  and  Yapu  (Joppa). 

From  these  indications  we  gather  that  Palestine,  from 
north  of  Tiberias  down  to  Jaffa,  was  subject  to  Egypt, 
and  the  various  governors  had  either  been  appointed  by 
the  King  of  Egypt  or  had  sworn  fealty  to  him.  They 
were  all  expected  to  send  in  regular  reports  of  their 
affairs.  Particular  value  was  set  upon  Askelon,  as  being 
on  the  high  road  from  Egypt  to  the  north,  and  so  we 
find  more  frequent  reports  of  its  safety  and  loyalty — 
Yitia  probably  availing  himself  of  passing  soldiers  as  his 
messengers. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century  B.C.,  it 
thus  appears  that  Syria  was  wealthy  and  flourishing 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  47 


and  enjoyed  peace,  and  the  whole  country,  from  the 
Euphrates  to  the  Sinaitic  boundary  of  Egypt,  was  under 
the  dominion  of  the  Pharaoh.  Alongside  of  the  ex- 
change of  costly  presents,  the  sending  of  tribute,  and 
the  continual  coming  and  going  of  messengers  with 
official  despatches,  there  must  have  been  a  flourishing 
commerce  carried  on  by  caravan  over  the  desert  between 
the  two  countries,  and  from  the  rare  reference  to  the 
plundering  of  caravans,  we  infer  that  it  was  prosecuted 
under  peaceful  and  encouraging  conditions. 

II.  The  North  Syrian  War. — Already  in  the  last 
four  years  of  Amenhotep  III.  there  were  indications  of 
coming  trouble.  His  growing  enfeeblement  and  the 
fact  that  Akhenaten  was  but  a  youth  may  have  hastened 
the  rebellion.  The  trouble  began  in  the  year  of  his 
death,  1379  B.C.,  and  with  the  Hittites  of  the  North. 
Behind  the  mountains  of  Igaid  these  Khatti  were  at 
first  content  to  seek  alliance  with  Egypt,  but  they  did 
not  remain  long  inactive.  From  this  date  onwards,  we 
read  in  these  letters  of  the  steady  and  complete  dis- 
integration of  the  splendid  suzeraignty  founded  in  Syria 
by  Amenhotep  and  his  predecessors.  Continual  warnings 
unheeded,  and  cries  for  help  disregarded,  by  Akhenaten 
are  wafted  to  our  ears  from  despairing  governors, 
who  hold  out  in  their  citadels  to  the  bitter  end, 
only  to  succumb  at  last  to  the  southward  swoop  of 
the  Hittite  eagles  from  their  mountain  fastnesses, 
with  their  allies,  the  Amorites  and  the  Khabiri 
(confederates). 

(1)  The  first  point  of  attack  was  Amqi,  identified 
with  the  modern  Ammik,  south-east  of  Beyrout,  and 
from  there  their  efforts  were  next  directed  against  Ubi, 


48      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


the  plain  of  Damascus,  Timashgi  itself  being  in  im- 
mediate danger.  The  prominent  leaders  are  Aidagamma, 
King  of  Kinza  ;  Azira,  King  of  the  Amorites,  the  Khabiri, 
and  the  Hittites  ;  while  Namyawaza  of  Kamid  remains 
a  staunch  friend  to  Egypt.  The  district  concerned  is 
that  around  Beyrout,  Baalbek,  and  Damascus.  In  one 
letter,  which  he  writes  to  defend  himself  against  the 
false  aspersions  of  Aidagamma,  Namyawaza  offers  loyal 
service  to  Egypt  with  his  soldiers,  his  chariots,  his 
Sagas,  and  his  Suti. 

The  The  Sagas  or  Khabiri. — This  letter  is  of  great  value. 

Khabiri  ^^^^  authorities  identify  the  Sagas  with  the  Khabiri. 

Pinches  however  says  that  wherever  the  word  Sagas 
occurs  in  the  bilingual  lists  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria, 
it  is  translated  by  "  Khabatu,"  a  word  which  means 
"  robbers."  He  therefore  regards  the  Sagas  as  a  band 
of  robbers,  but  considers  them  as  belonging  to  the 
confederacy  known  as  the  Khabiri  in  the  letters  of 
Abdi-tabu  or  Ebed-tob.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  they 
are  generally  looked  on  as  identical  with  the  Khabiri, 
and  this  letter  shows  that  we  must  regard  the  Khabiri 
as  an  alliance  of  Syrian  tribes  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Damascus.  In  view  of  this,  it  is  impossible  to  identify 
the  Khabiri  with  the  Hebrews  ;  for  though  the  letters 
of  Ebed-tob  show  that  they  soon  after  this  conquered 
the  south  of  Palestine,  and  probably  gave  its  name  to 
Hebron,  yet  Namyawaza's  letter  clearly  proves  that  they 
began  their  conquests  in  the  region  of  Damascus  and 
worked  their  way  south  from  there.  To  identify  them 
with  the  Hebrews  would  thus  demand  that  we  invert 
the  order  of  Joshua's  conquests  as  narrated  in  the  Old 
Testament,  for  there  we  find  that  he  first  conquered  the 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  49 


south  and  south-east,  and  afterwards  worked  his  way  to 
the  north  of  Palestine. 

Succeeding  letters  inform  us  that  Namyawaza's  cry 
for  help  from  Egypt  being  disregarded,  one  after  the 
other  of  the  neighbouring  chiefs  throw  in  their  lot 
with  Aidagarama  ;  and  finally  the  Khabiri  themselves, 
who  had  at  first  remained  loyal  to  Egypt,  revolt. 
Yenuama  (Yenoam,  near  Tyre)  rebels,  Ashtarti  (Ash- 
teroth-Karnaim)  falls  into  the  hands  of  the  Khabiri,  and 
Namyawaza  himself  has  to  take  refuge  in  some  city, 
probably  Damascus. 

(2)  The  rebellion  now  spreads  to  Galilee.  The  towns  Galilee, 
Udumu  (Adumah),  Aduri  (Tirjath  of  Josh,  xiii.),  Araru  ^379  B.C. 
(Arara),  Magdali  (Magdala),  and  others,  "  cities  in  the 
land  of  Gar,"  revolt,  and  three,  including  Yabishi 
(Yabesh),  are  taken.  The  "  land  of  Gar  "  is  the  Hebrew 
Gur,  and  from  the  towns  here  named  appears  to  have 
included  the  southern  half  of  Galilee,  which  shows  that 
at  this  point  the  Egyptians  have  lost  all  Galilee  and  all 
Syria  north  of  it. 

The  defection  of  Galilee  and  the  north  naturally 
made  the  passage  of  caravans  to  Babylonia  quite  unsafe, 
and  this  is  the  occasion  of  a  letter  from  Burnaburiyash, 
King  of  Karduniyash  (Babylonia)  to  Akhenaten.  In  it 
he  states  that  merchants  of  his  had  travelled  with 
Akhithabu  (Ahitub)  as  far  as  the  district  Kinakhi 
(east  of  Lake  Merom),  where  the  latter  left  them.  They 
stayed  in  Khinatuni  (Kanawat),  a  town  of  Kinakhi ; 
and  there  Shumadda,  son  of  Balumi  (Balaam),  and 
Shutatna,  son  of  Sharatu  of  Akkaiu  (Abka)  killed  them 
and  seized  the  caravan.  As  Kioakhi  belongs  to  Egypt, 
he  demands  compensation  and  the  return  of  two  who  had 
D 


50       THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


been  retained  as  slaves,  otherwise  trade  must  cease. 
This  is  simply  an  incident  in  the  Galilean  rebellion. 
These  two  allied  chiefs  had  taken  the  town  and  spoiled 
it  while  his  caravan  was  there.  The  Biblical  names 
Ahitub,  Shemayah  (Shamu-adda),  and  Balaam  are  inter- 
esting. 

(3)  While  the  rebellion  spread  to  the  south,  Aziru, 
"  the  most  energetic  son  of  Abdi-ashirta,  Lord  of  Amurri, 
or  the  middle  Orontes  valley  (land  of  the  Amorites)," 
had  time  to  prosecute  his  conquests  in  the  far  north, 
which  he  did  so  effectually  as  soon  to  be  master  of 
the  whole  district.  All  the  time,  he  was  writing  to 
Egypt  professing  the  utmost  loyalty.  The  great  bulwark 
Ribadda  against  Aziru  was  Ribadda,  chief  of  Gubla.  Gubla  is 
of  Gubla.  the  word  Gebel  or  Jebel,  meaning  "  hill,"  and  the  best 
identification  is  Jibleh,  the  classical  Gabala,  ten  miles 
south  of  Laodicea,  and  sixty  north  of  Tripoli  {cf.  Josh, 
xiii.  5,  Gebalites).  While  Ribadda  writes  for  troops  to 
ward  off  Aziru  and  the  Khabiri,  Aziru  writes  professing 
that  his  life  is  now  in  danger  on  account  of  his  loyalty 
to  Egypt !  All  his  duplicity,  however,  fails  to  convince 
the  Pharaoh  of  his  fidelity,  and  he  receives  a  letter  of 
stern  rebuke  demanding  his  immediate  presence  in 
Egypt.  Aziru  parries  this  cleverly,  writing  now  that 
the  Hittites  have  attacked  Tunip,  and  he  must  stay  for 
its  defence  ;  and,  again,  that  he  and  Khatib  will  set  out 
at  once.  The  fact  is,  the  Hittites  were  his  allies, 
and  he  was  with  them  in  their  attack  upon  Dunip 
(Tunip). 

Meanwhile  Ribadda  is  attacked  in  earnest,  and  his 
letters  show  a  strong  combination  against  Egypt,  viz. 
the  Khatti ;  the  Amurri,  under  Aziru,  Mitanni,  and  Kash. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  51 


Tsumur  (Simyra),  near  by,  is  hard  pressed,  and  Ziduna 
(Sidon),  with  its  chief  Zimrida,  has  revolted.  Eibadda 
seems  to  have  been  overlord  of  all  Northern  Phenicia, 
and  he  moves  about  from  town  to  town  as  need 
summons  him.  He  next  writes  from  Simyra,  and 
mentions  it  and  Irqata  as  alone  remaining  faithful 
besides  Gubla.  In  their  extremity  the  people  of  Irqata 
wrote  to  the  Pharaoh  appealing  strongly  for  assistance, 
and  their  letter  begins,  "  Irqata  and  its  elders  fall  down 
at  the  king's  feet,"  thus  showing  that  the  Government  Repub- 
was  a  Republic  with  no  nominal  head.  A  similar  letter  0^0"^^^. 
from  Tunip,  when  hard  pressed  by  Aziru  and  the  ment. 
Hittites,  belongs  to  the  same  period.  It  begins,  "  People 
of  Dunip  to  the  King,"  from  which  it  appears  that 
Tunip  had  at  the  time  a  Government  similar  to  that  of 
Irqata  :  a  council  of  elders  with  no  appointed  president. 
The  concluding  appeal  of  this  letter  is  strongly  pathetic, 
and  represents  the  hard  fate  of  many  another  town  that 
struggled  to  maintain  its  loyalty  in  the  face  of  the 
Pharaoh's  indifference :  "  And  now  Dunip,  your  city, 
weeps,  and  her  tears  are  running,  and  there  is  no  help 
for  us.  For  twenty  years  we  have  been  sending  to  our 
Lord,  the  King,  the  King  of  Egypt,  but  there  has  not 
come  to  us  a  word  from  our  Lord,  not  one  " — surely  a 
sad  commentary  on  the  waning  power  of  Egypt  and 
the  growing  indifference  or  unfortunate  incapacity  of 
Akhenaten.    The  appeal  was  disregarded. 

We  next  find  Eibadda  back  in  Gubla.  Irqata  has 
fallen,  and  Tsumura  (Simyra)  is  as  a  bird  in  a  snare." 
He  is  now  attacked  by  land  and  sea,  Aziru  being 
assisted  by  ships  from  Simyra,  Biruta,  and  Ziduna. 
In  the  stress  of  famine  he  appeals  to  Egypt  to  help  him 


52      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Yari-       to  get  food  from  Yarimuta.    Yarimuta  must  have  been 
a    sea-port    close    to   Gubla,  probably  to  the  north. 
Yerimoth,  Arimathea,  Eamoth,  and  Eamah    are  all 
^  names  applied  to  towns  or  districts  where  there  were 

high  places,  the  words  signifying  "  high  place."  The 
next  port  of  importance  north  of  Gubla  is  Laodicea, 
which  was  a  Ramah,  or  "  high  place,"  and  was  known 
in  Greek  times  as  Ramitha,  so  that  Yarimuta  is  almost 
certainly  the  port  later  known  as  Laodicea,  now 
Latakia. 

Kash.  At  this  time  Aziru  and  his  Amorites  are  assisted  by 
the  Khabiri  and  the  kings  of  Mitanni  and  Kash.  Kash, 
some  have  identified  with  Babylonia ;  but  from  the 
letters  it  appears  to  have  been  close  to  Mitanni.  It  is 
possible  that  the  name  is  retained  in  the  district  known 
in  classical  times  as  Casionitis,  north  of  Antioch.  Petrie 
identifies  it  with  the  Kurdite  territory. 
Khiku-  III  despairing  letter,  Ribadda  reminds  the  Pharaoh 
^^ta.  that  Gubla  belongs  to  him,  and  is  his  care  as  much 
as  Khikubta.  From  the  context,  Khikubta  must  be 
some  place,  most  likely  the  capital,  in  Egypt;  and 
Petrie  cleverly  identifies  it  with  Kha-ka-ptah,  the 
Egyptian  name  of  Memphis,  the  capital  known  in  the 
Old  Testament  as  Moph,  or  Noph. 

For  five  years  Ribadda  has  persevered  with  untiring 
fidelity  against  the  southward  rush  of  the  Hittites, 
Amorites,  and  Khabiri.  Simyra  now  falls  to  the 
Khabiri,  and  Gubla  is  isolated.  It  is  curious  to 
observe  how  the  Khabiri  are  always  put  forward  at 
the  finish  as  being  the  actual  aggressors,  although  they 
have  been  ably  assisted  throughout  by  the  other  two. 
It  appears  to  have  been  part  of  a  preconcerted  plan. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  53 


by  which  the  Hittites  and  Amorites,  who  were  allies 
of  Egypt,  were  able  to  withhold  from  the  Pharaoh  any 
indisputable  evidence  of  their  actual  faithlessness.  Thus 
Aziru,  though  he  has  been  assisting  at  the  taking  of 
Simyra,  immediately  after  its  fall  sits  down  and  writes 
an  account  of  its  capture  by  the  Khabiri  to  Pharaoh, 
still  playing  the  part  of  a  faithful  ally  ;  and  in  turn 
he  receives  a  command  to  retake  and  rebuild  it  for 
Egypt,  a  commission  which  he  evades  with  his  customary 
duplicity  and  skilful  manipulation  of  facts. 

These  tactics  of  Aziru  apparently  had  something 
to  do  with  the  inactivity  of  Akhenaten,  and  probably 
tended  largely  to  discredit  the  importance  of  Ribadda's 
reports  in  his  eyes.  Ribadda  himself  seems  to  have 
felt  this,  for  he  writes  reminding  Akhenaten  that 
his  father,  Amenhotep  III.,  trusted  him  and  sent  him 
help  whenever  he  needed  it.  He  suggests,  too,  that 
if  he,  Ribadda,  is  distrusted,  he  should  be  supplanted ; 
only,  let  the  king  send  and  expel  the  Khabiri  from 
Tsumura.  Except  on  the  supposition  of  preoccupation 
or  indolent  indifference,  it  is  hard  to  explain  how 
Akhenaten  was  so  persistently  blind  to  his  own  interests, 
and  so  absolutely  unappreciative  of  the  rare  fidelity 
and  amazing  energy  of  his  ally.  If  these  letters  had 
done  no  more,  they  have  preserved  for  us  in  Ribadda 
a  type  of  character  worthy  of  our  highest  esteem,  and 
only  too  seldom  found  in  the  political  annals  of  the 
East,  past  and  present.  It  is  another  instance  of  the 
strangely  ironical  fate  which  so  often  plays  havoc 
with  the  destinies  of  nations,  by  placing  the  greater 
man  in  the  second  place. 

(4)  We  leave  Ribadda  now  for  a  time  to  face  his 


54      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Tyre  and  troubles  within  and  without  Gubla  with  that  dauntless 
?^i375  ^is,  and  turn  to  events  at  Tsurri  (Tyre)  and 

^•C.        Ziduna  (Sidon),  which  have  already  joined  the  enemy. 

From  Abi-milki  (Abimelech),  King  of  Tyre,  we  possess 
eight  letters,  the  earlier  of  which  speak  of  Aziru  having 
just  begun  his  attack  upon  Namyawaza,  while  Zimrida 
of  Ziduna  is  already  in  league  with  Aziru  and  waiting 
an  opportunity  to  attack  Tyre.  Zimrida,  he  tells  us, 
is  receiving  regular  information  of  affairs  at  the  Court 
of  Egypt  through  Aziru,  which  shows  that  Aziru  had 
arranged  an  elaborate  espionage  upon  all  that  passed 
to  and  from  Egypt  regarding  his  doings,  and  gives  us 
one  more  indication  of  the  astuteness  of  the  Amorite 
leader.  Tyre  being  on  an  island,  the  siege  naturally 
made  it  difficult  for  him  to  secure  provisions  from  the 
mainland,  and  so  we  find  Abimelech  asking  troops  to 
assist  him  in  this  matter.  In  several  letters  the  request 
for  twenty  men  to  be  sent  as  a  garrison  occurs,  but  the 
number  twenty  is  to  be  regarded  simply  as  politely 
indefinite,  a  suggestion  that  he  will  be  glad  to  receive 
just  as  many  as  the  king  finds  it  convenient  to  send. 

Zimrida  next  attacks  Tyre  by  sea  with  two  ships, 
and  Khazura  (Hazor)  joins  the  rebels,  while  Aziru 
himself  appears  on  the  scene  with  people  of  Arw^ada 
(Arvad  ;  Greek,  Aradus),  ships,  chariots,  and  soldiers 
to  besiege  Tsurri.  Zimrida  has  already  taken  Usu 
(Hosah ;  Hebrew,  'Essiyeh,  six  miles  north  of  Tyre),  and 
Simyra  has  fallen.  There  is  neither  "  water,  wood,  nor 
burial  ground  "  in  Tyre,  Abimelech  tells  the  king.  No 
effective  response  to  his  appeal  came  from  Egypt,  and 
the  distress  which  he  pictures  evidently  overcame  his 
loyalty  soon  after. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  55 


Thus  we  see  from  Abimelech's  letters,  that  as  soon 
as  Simyra  fell  Aziru  hastened  south  to  assist  Zimrida 
against  Tyre,  and  conquered  all  the  south  of  Phenicia, 
while  the  Hittites  and  the  Khabiri  were  left  to  subdue 
Ribadda.  Gubla  is  now  the  only  important  place  in 
Phenicia  which  is  not  in  their  hands. 

(5)  The  letters  now  carry  us  back  to  Ribadda,  who  Ribadda 
stands  a  solitary  champion  for  Egypt  in  the  whole  ^"tru 
district  from  the  Orontes  to  Tyre.  He  aimounces  to 
the  Pharaoh  the  defection  of  Tyre  and  the  loss  of  his 
private  property,  which  he  had  stored  there  for  security, 
as  well  as  the  murder  of  his  sister  with  her  sons  and 
daughters,  who  had  been  sent  thither  for  the  same 
reason.  This  letter  he  writes  from  Biruna  (Beirut), 
where  he  has  been  for  three  months  (1372  B.C.)  on  a 
mission  trying  to  secure  the  town  for  Pharaoh.  He 
finds  half  the  town  in  favour  of  Aziru,  and  the  other 
half  for  the  King  of  Egypt.  He  reminds  the  king  that 
three  months  ago  he  had  sent  his  son  from  Beirut  to 
Egypt  to  interview  him,  but  his  son  had  never  yet  been 
admitted  to  his  presence,  and  asks  for  troops  to  defend 
Biruna. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  Aziru  had  officials  at  the 
Egyptian  Court  in  his  pay,  who  could  prevent  Ribadda's 
son  from  seeing  the  Pharaoh,  so  that  Akhenaten  pro- 
bably was  never  aware  of  his  presence.  It  is  just  as 
likely  that  the  substance  of  Ribadda's  letters,  if  not  the 
letters  themselves,  were  by  the  same  agency  prevented 
from  ever  reaching  Akhenaten,  or  that  only  a  garbled 
version  of  them  was  reported  to  him.  This  quite  falls 
in  with  Abimelech's  (of  Tyre)  statement,  that  Aziru  kept 
Zimrida  well  posted  in  the  affairs  of  the  Egyptian  Court. 


56      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


While  Ribadda  was  absent  in  Beirut,  his  brother 
Rabi-mur  had  charge  of  Gubla ;  and  the  people  of 
Gubla  wrote  to  the  King,  as  Tunip  and  Irqata  had 
done,  asking  that  240  men,  30  chariots,  and  600 
men  of  the  Kashi  be  sent  to  defend  Gubla.  Evidently 
they  did  not  know  that  the  Kashi  had  joined  the 
enemy.  This  shows,  however,  that  Kash  cannot  have 
been  Babylonia,  but  a  district  not  far  from  Gubla, 
and  confirms  the  identification  with  the  Casionitis 
of  classical  times.  The  date  of  this  letter  is  about 
1371  B.C. 

When  he  returned,  Ribadda  found  Gubla  in  such 
sti-aits  that  all  the  wood  and  children  had  been  sold  to 
Yarimuta  for  food.  He  appeals  to  two  commissioners 
of  Egypt,  Amanappa  and  Khaiappa,  in  the  vicinity,  and 
even  tries  to  turn  to  his  own  interest  a  division  which 
has  arisen  among  the  Amorites  themselves  ;  but  all  with 
no  practical  result.  Gubla  continues  in  a  state  of 
famine,  and  Ribadda  thinks  they  cannot  hold  out  longer 
than  two  months.  Three  years  pass,  however,  and 
during  this  time  Gubla  must  have  been  left  in  peace, 
for  crops  were  grown  ;  but,  again,  in  1369  B.C.  Ribadda 
writes  of  even  greater  destitution,  and  how  Rabimur  has 
become  the  leader  of  a  faction  determined  on  surrender- 
ing to  Aziru,  because  of  the  king's  neglect.  He  speaks 
pathetically  of  his  own  increasing  age  and  weakness, 
and  of  his  having  no  refuge  to  flee  to,  if  his  brother 
carries  out  this  design.  He  asks  permission  to  retire 
to  Buruzilim,  a  place  which  has  not  been  identified. 
Rabimur  must  have  supplanted  him  in  the  confidence 
of  his  townsmen,  for  shortly  after  this  he  went  to  Beirut 
to  secure  a  refuge  with  Amunira,  the  governor  there, 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  57 


who  still  held  out  for  Egypt.  Amunira  agreed  to 
receive  him ;  but  when  he  returned  to  bring  his  family 
from  Gubla,  so  strong  had  the  anti-Egyptian  feeling 
become  that  they  refused  him  admission  even  to  his  own 
house.  When  his  brother  and  his  wife  pleaded  with 
him  to  abandon  Egypt  and  join  Aziru,  he  resolutely 
refused ;  and  now,  stripped  of  friends,  kindred,  and 
position,  he  writes  from  Beirut :  "  Ribadda  is  still 
faithful,  but  if  the  king  will  not  help,  he  is  a  dead 
man." 

Amunira,  in  a  letter  from  Birutu  (Ribadda  spells  it 
Biruna),  says  :  "  As  to  the  man  from  Gubla  (i.e.  Ribadda), 
who  is  with  me,  I  am  indeed  guarding  him,  until  the 
king  shall  care  for  his  servant."  He  adds  also  that 
Rabimur  has  given  Ribadda's  sons  over  to  Aziru. 

Contrary  to  expectation,  however,  Birutu  fell  before  Fall  of 
Gubla,  and  Ribadda  had  to  flee  for  refuge  to  his  own  ^nd^"^ 
city,  where  they  evidently  received  him.  We  have  four  Gubla. 
more  appeals  from  his  pen,  and  finally  Gubla  falls,  and 
with  it  the  whole  Syrian  Empire  to  the  very  coast  of 
Misri  (Egypt)  itself.  Ribadda  disappears  from  the 
scene.  Whether  he  escaped  to  Egypt  or  to  Buruzilim, 
or  was  treacherously  betrayed  and  slain,  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing.  His  remarkable  history,  so  wonder- 
fully preserved  to  us  through  all  these  centuries,  is 
another  instance  of  the  stout-hearted  loyalist  in  a 
distant  outpost  of  the  empire  sacrificed  by  a  timid, 
vacillating,  or  indifferent  monarch.  In  the  correspon- 
dence we  search  in  vain  for  the  motive  behind  this 
man's  marvellous  fidelity  to  a  foreign  power  and  a  losing 
cause.  Perhaps  it  is  best  found  in  the  essential 
genuineness  and  single-mindedness  of  his  own  character. 


58      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


With  him  Egyptian  prestige  entirely  disappeared  from 
Northern  Syria. 

Palestine.  III.  The  last  series  consists  of  forty-two  letters, 
which  deal  with  the  defection  of  Palestine.  They  are 
neither  so  full  of  detail  nor  so  interesting  as  the  pre- 
ceding, and  there  is  no  hero  of  constancy  like  Ribadda 
to  give  them  that  touch  of  human  interest  which  makes 
even  dry  bones  live.  They  reveal  the  same  state  of 
affairs,  several  chiefs  in  a  sense  leagued  together,  yet 
each  one  really  fighting  for  his  own  hand,  and  each 
openly  professing  to  be  fighting  for  the  interests  of 
Egypt.  It  is  impossible,  in  fact,  to  discover  which, 
if  any,  was  really  loyal  to  Egypt.  Nowhere  in  the 
south  was  such  resistance  shown  as  at  Birutu,  or  Gubla 
in  the  north.  They  had  learned  from  the  fate  of  these 
places  that  they  had  nothing  to  hope  for  from  Egypt ; 
and  so  we  find  that  after  one  or  two  vain  appeals  to  the 
Pharaoh  for  assistance,  the  various  places  make  the  best 
terms  which  they  can  for  themselves,  join  the  rebels, 
and  throw  off  the  Egyptian  yoke.  The  chief  centres 
of  the  fighting  seem  to  have  been  Urusalim,  Gazri 
(Gezer),  Magidda  (Megiddo),  with  the  surrounding  dis- 
tricts ;  and,  of  these,  Jerusalem,  under  Abdi-taba  (Ebed- 
tob),  offered  the  strongest  resistance. 
The  Of  the  three  races  prominent  in  the  northern  war, 

and°th?^  only  the  Khabiri  are  mentioned  in  the  south.  The 
Exodus.  Hittites  and  the  Amorites  had  not  as  yet  pressed  further 
south  than  Northern  Galilee.  On  eighteenth  dynasty 
monuments  the  Amorites  are  never  mentioned  as  being 
found  in  the  south  of  Palestine,  and  in  the  nineteenth 
Rameses  II.  locates  them  with  the  Hittites  near  Qedesh 
(Lake  Homs),  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Damascus.  But 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  59 


Joshua  (chap,  x.)  found  the  Amorites  in  possession  of  all 
Southern  Palestine,  and  Rameses  III.  of  the  twentieth 
dynasty  (c.  1202-1170  B.C.)  gives  them  a  prominent 
place  in  his  Syrian  triumphs  depicted  on  the  walls  of 
Medinet  Habu,  although  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
even  touched  Northern  Syria.  As  the  date  of  his  last 
Syrian  campaign  has  been  fixed  at  1187  B.C.,  we  must 
therefore  infer  that  by  that  date  the  Amorites  had 
extended  their  dominion  to  the  south.  Since  Joshua 
met  and  conquered  them  in  the  south,  his  entrance  into 
Canaan  must  thus  have  taken  place  subsequent  to 
Rameses  II.  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  and  close  to 
the  period  of  the  invasions  of  Syria  by  Rameses  III. 

The  trouble  began  with  the  revolt  of  several  chiefs 
against  Egypt,  probably  at  the  instigation  of  the 
Khabiri ;  and  as  soon  as  the  flame  of  rebellion  was 
ignited,  each  of  the  rebels  evidently  sent  a  report  of 
the  defection  of  the  others  to  Egypt.  Abdi-taba  ex- 
presses himself  particularly  aggrieved  at  being  slandered, 
and  denies  the  charge  of  disloyalty.  Milk-ili,  chief  of 
some  town  in  Judaea,  and  Shu  ward  ata,  his  ally,  write 
similarly,  and  each  warns  the  Pharaoh  of  the  danger 
from  the  Khabiri,  while  each  names  Yankhamu,  the 
Egyptian  Commissioner,  in  somewhat  doubtful  terms. 

Milk-ili  next  attacks  Jerusalem,  and  in  two  letters 
asking  help  Abdi-taba  informs  the  king  that  Khazati 
(Gaza)  and  Ginti-kirmil  (the  hill  country  of  Carmel 
between  Jerusalem  and  the  Mediterranean)  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy  ;  while  to  the  north  Shiri  (Heb., 
Shaaraim)  and  Zilu  (Heb.,  Zelah)  have  fallen  to  the 
Khabiri,  who  "  hold  all  the  cities."  At  the  same 
time  Gazri  (Gezer)  is  attacked,  and  Lapaya,  its  leader,  Gezer. 


60      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


formerly  a  friend  of  Egypt,  now  joins  the  assailants, 
though  in  a  letter  to  Egypt  at  this  period  he  protests 
that  "  if  the  king  demanded  Lapaya's  wife,  he  would 
send  her,  or  if  he  ordered  Lapaya  to  run  a  sword  of 
bronze  through  his  own  heart,  he  would  do  it." 
Megfiddo.  Makidda  (Megiddo)  next  becomes  the  scene  of  opera- 
tions, and  Biridiya,  its  chief,  is  sore  pressed  by  the 
Khabiri  and  Lapaya.  He  forms  a  conspiracy  to  seize 
Lapaya  and  send  him  to  Egypt,  but  Shurata  of  Akka 
forestalls  him,  and  under  pretence  of  sending  Lapaya 
to  Egypt  by  sea  from  Akka,  he  frees  him  for  a  ransom 
in  the  town  Khinatuni,  east  of  the  Jordan.  It  was 
Shurata's  son,  Shutatna,  who  plundered  the  caravan 
of  Burnaburiash  in  this  same  town,  so  that  the  two 
events  seem  to  belong  to  the  same  raid. 
Jeru-  The  attack  is  again  transferred  to  Jerusalem,  and 

salem.  Abdi-taba  is  in  sore  straits.  Gezer,  Askelon,  and  Lakisi 
(Lachish)  have  joined  the  enemy.  His  caravans  are 
plundered  at  Yaluna  (Ajalon).  Rubutu  (Rabbah)  falls, 
and  men  of  Qilti  take  Bit-ninib,  belonging  to  Jerusalem. 
Unless  help  is  sent,  Jerusalem  must  surrender  to  the 
Khabiri. 

This  is  the  last  appeal  of  Abdi-taba ;  and  we  may 
presume  that,  having  lost  all  hope  of  assistance  from 
Egypt,  he  soon  after  followed  the  example  of  other 
towns  and  made  terms  with  the  Khabiri. 

Queen  ISTinur. — Two  letters  are  from  Ninur,  who 
addresses  the  king  as  his  handmaid.  This  queen  must 
have  ruled  over  some  portion  of  Judsea  between 
Jerusalem  and  the  Great  Sea,  probably  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ajalon,  to  whose  fall  she  refers.  This 
recalls  a  similar  instance  of  female  rule  in  Palestine 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  61 


among  the  Israelites  in  the  case  of  Deborah,  the 
prophetess,  who  judged  Israel  (Jud.  iv.  4.) 

From  these  letters  we  thus  gather  that  in  the  course 
of  the  fifteen  years  between  1380  and  1365  B.C.  the 
Egyptian  sovereignty  over  Syria  was  completely  swept 
away,  and  in  the  chaos  which  ensued  the  Khabiri  or 
confederates  appear  to  have  been  left  masters  of  South 
Syria  or  Palestine,  while  the  Hittites  and  the  Amorites 
divided  the  north  between  them. 

One  fact  is  plainly  established  by  the  letters  of 
Ebed-tob.  We  can  no  longer  regard  Jerusalem  as 
being  at  this  date  a  mere  village  of  the  Jebusites.  It 
was  manifestly  the  capital  of  Southern  Palestine,  and  a 
place  of  importance  from  very  early  times.  The 
tradition  of  Manetho,  that  it  was  founded  by  the 
Hyksos  when  they  were  driven  out  of  Egypt  about 
1580  B.C.,  or  two  hundred  years  before  the  events 
recorded  in  the  T.A.  Letters,  would  appear  to  be  nearer 
the  truth,  so  far  at  least  as  the  date  of  its  founding  is 
concerned. 

Summary. — We  may  now  summarise  the  information 
which  these  Letters  give  regarding  Syria  and  Palestine 
in  the  fifteenth  century  B.C. 

1.  The  Khatti  or  Hittites. — These  were  at  first 
confined  to  the  region  described  as  Igaid,  identified  as 
the  district  of  the  Lebanon,  north  of  Beirut.  Later  on, 
along  with  the  Amorites  they  conquered  the  country  as 
far  south  as  Gubla  (Gabala,  ten  miles  south  of  Laodicea), 
c.  1375  B.C.  In  the  monuments  of  Rameses  11.  (1300- 
1234  B.C.)  we  find  them  established  with  Qedesh,  near 
Lake  Homs,  as  their  capital,  and  Rameses  had  to  fight 
them  for  his  frontier  just  beyond  Beirut. 


62      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


2.  Amar,  Amurri. — The  Amorites  also  descended 
from  North  Syria.  Originally  they  held  the  main  part 
of  the  Orontes  valley,  and  under  Aziru  they  pressed 
south  to  the  northern  end  of  Galilee.  In  the  time 
of  Eameses  II.  they  are  side  by  side  with  the  Hittites 
at  Qedesh.  Rameses  III.  (1200-1170  B.C.)  found 
them  in  possession  of  Southern  Syria  or  Palestine,  and 
later  still  Joshua  found  them  masters  of  all  South 
Palestine.  In  Josh.  x.  the  five  Amorite  kings  of 
Jerusalem,  Jarmuth,  Hebron,  Lachish,  and  Eglon  com- 
bined against  him  to  battle  at  Gibeon.  About  1365  B.C. 
we  saw  from  the  Letters  that  the  Khabiri  were  conquering 
these  very  places,  so  that  between  that  date  and  1175 
B.C.,  when  Joshua  reached  Canaan,  the  Amorites 
must  have  displaced  the  Khabiri.  Not  one  of  the 
letters  of  Ebed-tob  mentions  the  Amorites  as  having 
come  south  at  that  time ;  and  as  Eameses  II.  locates 
them  at  Qedesh,  they  must  have  come  south  between 
his  time  and  1187  B.C.,  the  date  of  the  last  campaign 
of  Rameses  III.  against  Syria. 
Modes  of     Modes  of  Government. — Five  different  varieties  of 

Govern-  government  are  found  in  these  letters,  as  existing  in 
ment.       %    .         ■,  . 

Syria  at  that  time. 

1.  We  find  chiefs  appointed  by  the  Pharaoh. 

2.  We  find  also  hereditary  chiefs  retained  and 
approved  by  him. 

3.  One  instance  of  female  rule  occurs — Ninur  in 
Judaea. 

4.  Elected  chiefs.  Abdi-taba  of  Jerusalem  frequently 
uses  the  expression,  "  Neither  my  father  nor  my  mother 
set  me  in  this  place — the  arm  of  the  mighty  King 
caused  me  to  enter  into  the  house  of  my  father.'* 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  63 


When  we  compare  with  this  the  statement  of  Heb. 
vii.  3  regarding  Melchizedek,  King  of  Jerusalem, 
"  without  father,  without  mother,  without  genealogy," 
the  two  together  compel  us  to  regard  this  as  a  special 
formula  applied  to  the  King  of  Jerusalem,  as  being  not 
a  hereditary  prince  but  an  official  elected  by  the  people. 
This  is  the  view  of  several,  notably  Dr  Petrie,  but  the 
words  quoted  above  seem  to  imply  simply  that  he  was 
the  nominee  of  Pharaoh,  as  well  as  the  heir  by  birth, 
for  he  regards  his  position  as  his  inheritance,  describing 
his  accession  as  "  entering  into  the  house  of  my  father." 
It  is  quite  possible  that  he  may  be  quoting  a  recognised 
formula,  while  he  flatteringly  attributes  his  position  to 
the  Pharaoh,  and  at  the  time  he  had  strong  reasons  for 
impressing  upon  Pharaoh's  mind  the  fact  that  he  stood 
or  fell  by  him,  for  he  was  sorely  in  need  of  assistance. 
The  fact  that  Pharaoh  left  him  to  face  his  troubles  alone 
perhaps  also  strengthens  this  idea,  that  he  is  merely 
indulging  in  flattery,  and  in  the  doing  of  it  is  altering  a 
formula  regularly  applied  to  the  King  of  Jerusalem.  In 
the  scarcity  of  evidence,  however,  it  is  perhaps  best  to 
regard  the  matter  as  simply  a  striking  coincidence. 

5.  The  letters  of  Irqata,  Tunip,  and  Gubla  (in  the 
absence  of  Eibadda)  supply  instances  of  a  republican 
government,  consisting  of  a  council  of  elders,  and  no 
official  president.  A  parallel  to  this  is  found  in  Josh, 
ix.  12,  where  the  deputation  is  described  as  coming 
from  "  the  elders  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  Gideon." 

The  Letters  also  throw  some  light  on  the  religion  of  Religion. 
Syria  at  this  period.    One  God  frequently  mentioned  is 
Rimmon,  the  Eammanu  or  Thunderer  of  Assyria,  the 
Addu  or  Hadad  of  the  Semitic  races  of  Syria,  and  the 


64      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Teshupa  or  Teshub  of  Mitanni  (Aram-Naharaim)  and 
ArmeDia  (Pinches).  The  name  is  seen  in  Shamuaddu. 
Shalmayatu  was  worshipped  in  Tyre  ;  and  Ashteroth, 
the  town  east  of  Tiberias,  preserves  the  name  of 
Astarte,  t^  Assyrian  Ishtar.  In  Abdi-ashirta,  the 
name  of  tiic  father  of  Aziru,  chief  of  the  Amorites,  we 
see  the  word  asherah  preserved.  "  Asherah  "  was  the 
grove  associated  with  the  worship  of  Astarte  or  Ishtar. 

Cyprus. — The  King  of  Alashia  (Cyprus)  charges 
Nergal,  the  Assyrian  god  of  disease  and  death,  with  the 
destruction  of  his  people  by  pestilence  ;  and  Dusbratta 
of  Mitanni  speaks  of  the  Assyrian  sun-god  Sbamash  as 
the  god  of  his  father,  which  was  stolen  by  an  enemy. 
Similarly,  the  Assyrian  deity  Ninip  is  preserved  in  Beth- 
Ninip,  the  house  of  Ninip,  the  name  of  a  town  near 
Jerusalem  mentioned  by  Ebed-tob.  We  may  assume 
from  the  name  that  it  was  a  centre  of  the  worship  of 
Ninip.  The  name  is  also  preserved  in  Abad-Ninip, 
*'  the  servant  of  Ninip,"  who  apparently  belonged  to 
Gebal  (Gubla).  Ninip  was  the  god  of  cultivation  and 
fertility,  and  is  sometimes  identified  with  Merodach,  the 
great  benefactor  of  mankind,  especially  of  the  sick  and 
afflicted. 

The  Egyptian  god  Amana  (Amon)  is  several  times 
invoked  ;  and  other  deities  incorporated  in  names  of 
men  are  Dagan  (Dagon),  a  west-semitic  deity.,  in  Dagan- 
takala  of  Beth-dagon,  near  Joppa  ;  Milku  (Melech, 
Moloch — west-semitic)  in  Milki-ili  (Moloch — my  God), 
Abd-milki  (servant  of  Moloch),  etc.  The  Babylonian 
deities  Urash,  Bidina,  and  Merodach  are  also  found  in 
names. 

From  the  prevalence  of  these  Assyrian  and  Babylonian 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  65 


deities,  it  is  clear  that  these  countries  still  had  a  power- 
ful hold  OD  Syria,  although  it  was  under  the  government 
of  Egypt.  Pinches  thinks  that  the  worship  of  Tammuz, 
or  Adonis,  the  husband  of  Ishtar,  which  afterwards 
proved  a  grievous  stumbling-block  to  tha  -' .Israelites, 
must  have  come  in  from  Babylonia  at  the  same  time 
as  these  (see  Ezek.  viii.  14). 

Syria  under  the  Nineteenth  Dynasty. — Sub- 
joined are  the  names  of  the  kings  of  the  nineteenth 
dynasty  prior  to  the  supposed  date  of  the  exodus  of 
Israel : — 

1.  Eameses  1.       .        .      1328-1326  B.C. 

2.  Sety  I.     .        .        .      1326-1300  „ 

3.  Rameses  II.      .        .      1300-1234  „ 

4.  Merenptah       .        .      1234-1214  „ 

Dynasty  Twenty. — Rameses  III.    1202-1170  „ 

Of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  kings  who  succeeded 
Akhenaten,  Horemheb  appears  to  have  to  some  extent 
re-established  the  Egyptian  power  over  Syria,  but 
Sety  I.  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty  seems  to  have  been  Sety  I. 
the  6rst  to  take  up  the  work  in  earnest.  His  exploits 
in  various  countries  are  depicted  in  a  series  of  scenes 
covering  over  200  feet  on  the  north  wall  of  the  great 
hall  of  Karnak.  Among  these,  the  Khita  or  Hittite 
war  and  other  expeditions  against  Syria  are  portrayed. 

He  began  with  a  raid  upon  the  Shasu  or  Bedawin 
from  Zalu  on  the  Sinai  tic  boundary  of  Egypt,  and  he 
appears  to  have  passed  up  through  Judaea  to  the  Jordan, 
and  thence  up  the  Jordan  valley,  the  Syrians  being 

£ 


66      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


depicted  as  everywhere  fleeing  before  him.  He  takes 
Ynuamu  (Yanuh)  near  Tyre,  his  enemies  as  depicted 
being  all  north  Syrian  types  and  shown  hiding  in  the 
forests.  He  halts  at  a  fort  called  Kaduru  by  Lake 
Marma  (Merom),  where  he  receives  the  submission  of 
the  men  of  Lemanen  (Lebanon),  who  bring  great  trees 
to  be  sent  by  ship  to  Egypt  for  the  temple  of  Amen. 
Kaduru  must  be  the  Khazura  (Hazor)  of  the  Letters, 
the  modern  Hadireh.  Owing  to  his  renaming  every 
halting-place  after  himself,  it  is  impossible  to  trace  his 
course  accurately.  From  Kaduru  he  returned  to  Egypt 
with  his  captives,  among  them  the  chiefs  of  the  Rutennu 
or  the  North  Palestine  hill  country.  The  name  for 
Palestine  on  his  inscription  is  Khalu. 

Succeeding  scenes  depict  him  conquering  the  Amo- 
rites,  storming  their  city  Kedesh,  and  leading  away 
Hittite  captives.  Two  lines  of  Rutennu  captives  are 
described  as  having  been  won  in  the  land  of  the  Kheta, 
which  shows  that  in  his  time  the  whole  of  North 
Palestine  was  known  as  the  land  of  the  Hittites.  The 
dress  of  the  Rutennu  is  carefully  distinguished  from  that 
of  the  Hittites. 

One  scene  gives  a  list  of  places  conquered  by  him, 
and  among  them  are  the  following  : — Kheta  or  land  of 
the  Hittites,  Naharain  or  North  Syria,  Retennu,  Sangart 
on  the  Orontes,  Qedshu  or  Qedesh,  Qedna  or  Qatana 
west  of  Damascus,  Asy,  perhaps  Cyprus. 

An  inscribed  sphinx  in  the  temple  at  Qurneh  gives 
the  following  list : — Kheta,  Naharain,  Alosa  (Alashia  or 
Cyprus),  Bat-shar  or  Beth-shur,  four  miles  north  of 
Hebron,  Aka  or  Akka,  Bamait  or  Bamoth  (i.e.  a  high 
place),  waters  of  Yanua,  i.e.  Yanoah  near  Tyre,  Qamadu, 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  67 


i,e.  Kumidi  near  Beirut,  Zar  (Zur  or  Tyre),  Bat-hant  or 
Beth-anath  near  Tyre,  upper  and  lower  Eetennu. 

From  these  lists  we  infer  that  by  1300  B.C.  the 
Egyptian  King,  Sety  I.,  had  established  his  dominion 
over  Syria  and  Palestine  from  the  Orontes  to  the 
Egyptian  boundary. 

Rameses  II.,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Oppression  (1300- Rameses 
1234),  in  his  second  year  made  an  expedition  ^-gainst  pji^'^^^^jj 
Syria  and  penetrated  as  far  as  the  Nahr  el  kelb  or  Dog  of  the 
River,  north  of  Beirut,  where  a  rock  stele  depicts  him  ^on.^^^' 
smiting  a  captive  as  an  offering  to  the  god  Amen. 
Another  stele  at  the  same  place  belonging  to  his  fourth 
year  shows  him  making  a  similar  offering  to  Ra. 
Though  both  these  expeditions  appear  to  have  been 
intended  merely  to  impress  the  Syrians,  or  for  collecting 
tribute,  they  were  sufficient  to  rouse  the  ire  of  the 
Hittites,  who,  with  a  confederacy  of  allies,  administered 
a  severe  check  to  him  at  Beirut.  He  celebrates  this 
war  with  the  Hittites  in  his  poem  of  Pentaur,  where  he 
names  eighteen  peoples  as  being  united  against  him. 
These  are  Kheta,  Naharain,  Aretu  (Aradus),  Masa 
(Mysia  ?,  or  Gebel  Musa),  Keshkesh  (Kasionitis),  Pidasa 
(Pedasos  in  Caria),  Arwena  (Arwan),  Luka  (Lycians), 
Dardeny  (Dardanians),  Qarkish  (Kirkesion),  Karkamesh 
(Carchemish),  Qaza-aana  (Kataonia),  Khilbu  (Halab, 
Aleppo),  Akarat  (Ugarit  of  T.  A.  Letters,  Okrad),  Qedesh, 
the  Hittite  capital,  Qedi  (Phenicia),  Anaugasa  (one  of 
the  store-cities  of  Megiddo),  Mushena  (perhaps  Masna, 
east  of  Qedesh).  According  to  these  identifications  of 
Petrie's,  all  the  places  named  are  included  in  the  space 
between  Cappadocia  and  Tyre,  and  between  the 
Euphrates  and  Phenicia. 


68      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Two  accounts  of  this  war  have  been  preserved  to 
us — one  an  official  report,  and  the  other  the  Poem 
of  Pentaur,  so  called  after  the  scribe  who  copied  it. 
They  describe  the  route  followed  by  Rameses  over  one 
hundred  miles  of  desert,  made  passable  by  his  father  Sety, 
who  had  had  the  wells  rebuilt,  up  through  Palestine  to 
Beirut,  then  along  the  Dog  River  and  down  the  Orontes 
to  Qedesh,  behind  which  the  Kheta  were  concealed. 
Here,  we  are  told,  Rameses  inflicted  a  decisive  defeat 
upon  them  and  took  many  prisoners  ;  but  as  the  Kheta 
were  not  plundered  and  paid  no  tribute,  we  must  infer 
that  the  contest  was  a  very  equal  one.  A  few  years 
after  this,  in  1292  B.C.,  he  had  to  fight  them  in  North 
Galilee,  so  that  they  were  aggressively  pressing  south- 
wards ;  and  in  his  twenty-first  year,  1279  B.C.,  they  were 
so  powerful  that  he  was  compelled  to  make  an  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance  with  them. 

The  complete  text  of  this  interesting  treaty  still 
remains.    It  establishes  relations  of  peace  and  brother- 
hood, and  confirms  two  previous  treaties  which  had 
been  made  by  Hor-em-heb,  last  of  the  eighteenth,  and 
Sety  I.,  of  the  nineteenth,  dynasties. 
Meren-        Merenptah,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus  (1234-1214 
Pharaoh  ^  C.),  made  an  expedition  into  Syria,  which  is  recorded 
of  the      on  the  Israelite  stele,  elsewhere  quoted.    There  Gezer, 
Askelon,  and  Yenuamu  are  mentioned  as  having  been 
taken  ;  Canaan  is  seized  with  every  evil,  the  people 
of  Israel  laid  waste,  Kharu  (Palestine)  is  as  a  widow, 
and  Kheta  is  quiet. 

Thus  we  see  that  in  the  time  of  Rameses  II.  and 
Merenptah  the  Hittites  were  the  predominant  race 
in  Syria  north  of  Galilee,  and  were  powerful  enough 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  69 


to  enjoy  an  alliance  on  equal  terms  with  the  Pharaoh. 
From  other  sources  we  saw  that  the  Amorites  dominated 
the  southern  portion  of  Syria  about  the  same  period, 
having  descended  from  Qedesh,  probably  in  the  reign 
of  Merenptah,  for  we  find  them  figuring  prominently 
in  the  records  of  the  conquests  of  Rameses  III.  (1202- 
1170  B.C.)  in  South  Palestine,  and  by  the  end  of  this 
latter  reign,  1170  B.C.,  Joshua  had  met  and  defeated 
them  at  Gibeon. 

Such  is  the  picture  *of  Syria  and  Palestine  which 
the  monuments  of  Egypt,  prior  to  the  Exodus,  put 
before  us  ;  and  it  undoubtedly  abolishes  many  of  our 
preconceived  notions  of  what  these  Syrians  were  like. 
We  cannot  longer  regard  them  as  a  race  of  uncivilised 
savages  who  would  fall  an  easy  prey  to  an  untrained 
horde  of  religious  fanatics  suddenly  emerging  from  the 
desert.  Syria  and  Palestine  possessed  a  civilisation 
in  nothing  inferior  to  Egypt,  and  a  wealth  of  resources 
which  quite  justifies  the  description  "  a  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey " ;  though,  until  we  were  able 
to  read  these  monuments  of  the  Pharaohs,  we  had  no 
evidence  to  prove  that  the  description  of  the  Old 
Testament  was  correct. 


Ill 


FORMER  DISCOVERIES  IN  EGYPT  BEARING  ON  THE 
OLD  TESTAMENT 

While  Egyptian  discoveries  have  supplied  us  with 
information  regarding  Palestine,  which  is  nowhere  found 
in  Scripture,  they  have  been  the  means  also  of  con- 
firming in  many  ways  the  historical  accuracy  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  done  a  valuable  work  of  elucidation 
as  well. 

There  is  a  tendency  to  undervalue  the  testimony 
of  these  arch  geological  discoveries,  because  no  indis- 
putable proof  of  the  actual  presence  of  Israel  has  yet 
been  found,  and  it  is  a  loss  which  must  continually  be 
felt.  Professor  Sayce,  however,  regards  the  fact  as  by  no 
means  strange  for  several  reasons.  The  Israelites  were 
insignificant  in  number,  obscure  in  social  standing,  and 
were  doubtless  despised  as  one  of  the  many  Shasu  or 
Bedawiu  tribes,  whose  pastoral  life  and  habits  gained 
for  them  the  sobriquet  of  "  the  abomination  of  the 
Egyptians,"  as  recorded  in  the  Bible  itself.  They  lived 
apart  and  were  virtually  outcasts  of  society.  Until  they 
were  confounded  with  the  other  Semitic  foreigners 
resident  in  Egypt,  they  were  not  really  a  factor  in  the 
political  life  of  the  country,  and  they  might  consequently 
have  been  referred  to  simply  under  the  class  ''foreigners" 

70 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  71 


without  their  tribal  name  being  mentioned.  It  is  quite 
possible,  therefore,  that  no  definite  mention  of  them  by 
name  may  ever  be  found  in  any  monument  of  the  period 
of  their  sojourn.  The  stele  of  Merenptah,  to  be  spoken 
of  later,  mentions  Israel,  but  not  the  Israelites  resident 
in  Egypt. 

Though  we  cannot  but  feel  the  absence  of  this 
information,  which  would  at  once  give  the  stamp  of 
historical  authenticity  to  the  Old  Testament  narrative, 
we  must  not  allow  it  to  detract  from  the  value  of  other 
evidences,  whose  cumulative  effect  goes  a  long  way 
toward  supplying  this  want,  and  establishes  at  least  the 
fact  that  the  colouring  of  the  narrative  is  genuinely 
Egyptian.  There  are  many  points  of  contact,  as  well  as 
facts  of  identification,  in  the  record  of  former  discovery, 
which  are  of  the  utmost  value,  and  these  we  propose  to 
set  forth  according  to  the  sequence  of  events  as  described 
in  the  Bible. 

1.  At  the  very  outset  we  are  met  with  a  curiously  The  Tale 
interesting  illustration  of  the  story  of  Joseph's  tempta- 
tion  in  the  house  of  Potiphar.  One  of  the  old  Brothers. 
Egyptian  tales  bequeathed  to  us,  the  story  of  the  two 
brothers,  is  almost  an  exact  duplicate.  The  wife  of  the 
elder  brother  plays  the  same  false  part,  first  tempting 
and  afterwards  falsely  accusing  the  younger.  Her 
husband  seeks  to  slay  him,  but  the  cattle  sympa- 
thetically convey  to  him  a  sense  of  his  danger  and  he 
escapes.  When  closely  pursued  by  the  elder  brother, 
the  god  Horus  saves  him  by  interposing  between  them 
a  lake  full  of  crocodiles.  This  story  was  written  for  the 
amusement  of  Seti  II.,  the  son  of  the  Pharaoh  of  the 
Exodus,  and  thus  belongs  to  the  period  of  the  Israelite 


72      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


sojourn  in  Egypt.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  tradi- 
tional story  of  Joseph's  temptation  was  the  background 
of  the  tale,  although  it  may  be  only  an  illustration  of  a 
type  of  fictional  literature  common  in  Egypt  at  that 
time.  In  tone  and  colouring  both  tales  are  decidedly 
Oriental. 

Bethel  2.  DrEAMS,    DeEAM-PiLLARS    OR    BETHELS.    The 

Pillars,  frequent  occurrence  of  dreams,  as  prophetic  of  coming 
events,  in  the  narrative  of  Joseph  is,  according  to 
Dr  Sayce,  a  distinctly  Egyptian  feature.  In  Egypt 
dreams  were  "  regarded  as  a  means  of  personal  inter- 
course Avith  the  deity."  The  dreams  of  the  butler,  the 
baker,  and  Pharaoh,  may  therefore  be  looked  upon  as 
evidence  that  the  writer  was  closely  intimate  with 
Egyptian  modes  of  thought,  and  has  here  given  a  true 
Egyptian  colouring  to  his  work.  It  was  a  common 
practice  to  visit  a  temple  and  to  sleep  in  it  for  the  very 
purpose  of  getting  an  oracular  dream  from  the  deity  in 
answer  to  some  question  which  agitated  their  minds. 
Several  instances  of  this  custom  might  be  quoted  from 
Egyptian  monuments,  but  the  evidence  afforded  by 
Dr  Petrie's  recent  work  in  Sinai  is  more  striking  and  of 
an  earlier  date.  It  appears  that  certain  temple  locali- 
ties had  a  wide  reputation  in  this  respect,  and  were 
resorted  to  coutinually  by  pilgrims.  The  reputation 
may  have  belonged  originally  to  the  locality  itself,  and 
the  temple  been  the  fruit  of  it.  Such  may  have  been 
the  case  with  Bethel  in  Palestine. 

The  Temple  of  Hat-hor  at  Serabit  el  Khadem  in 
Sinai  was  a  favourite  resort  of  dream-seekers.  In  its 
immediate  vicinity  thirty  Bethel-shelters  and  twelve 
dream-pillars  were  found  still  standing.     These  shelters 


BETHEL  SHELTER— SERABIT 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  73 


were  built  of  stones  piled  together,  so  as  to  present  a 
rough  exterior,  but  usually  had  a  carefully  finished 
facing  inside.  They  are  all  isolated,  some  four  to  six 
feet,  and  others  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  inside,  and  just 
allowing  comfortable  room  to  sleep.  They  are  merely 
wind-shelters,  such  as  might  be  thrown  up  for  a  visit  of 
a  night  or  two.  Many  have  well-cut  Egyptian  steles 
erected  beside  them.  All  round  the  turquoise  mines, 
however,  isolated  steles  still  stand,  varying  from  a  few 
inches  to  two  feet  in  height,  and  propped  up  by  a  heap 
of  stones  at  the  bottom.  It  is  noteworthy  that  none  of 
them  are  found  out  of  sight  of  the  temple  area.  They 
are  generally  connected  with  a  circle  of  stones  piled  on 
the  ground,  and  the  best  example  has  an  altar  at  the 
bottom.  Dr  Petrie  has  no  hesitation  in  connecting 
these  with  the  devotional  use  of  stones  in  Palestine,  and 
they  cannot  be  sepulchral  monuments,  since  no  trace  of 
graves  was  found  near  them.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
they  are  relics  of  the  custom  of  dreaming  in  sacred 
places,  of  setting  up  stones  as  memorials  of  these 
dreams,  and  anointing  them  with  oil — just  what  we  find 
recorded  of  Jacob  on  his  way  to  Padan-aram  in  Gen. 
xxviii.  10-19  :  "He  took  of  the  stones  of  that  place, 
and  set  them  at  his  head,  and  lay  down  in  that  place 
to  sleep.'"  The  words  seem  to  mean,  that  he  erected  a 
rough  stone  shelter  at  his  head  between  him  and  the 
wind,  a  custom  practised  by  any  caravan  at  the  present 
day,  the  muleteers  using  their  baggage  loads  for  the 
purpose.  The  Hebrew  word,  usually  translated  "  under 
his  head,"  is  far  more  frequently  used  in  the  sense  "  at 
his  head."  The  fact  that  the  stone,  which  he  erected 
and  anointed,  was  small  enough*  for  him  to  handle, 


74      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


shows  that  we  may  quite  expect  comparatively  small 
stones  to  be  employed  for  this  purpose. 

The  steles  themselves  prove  that  here  the  Egyptians 
were  adopting  a  custom  of  the  country  to  which  they 
had  come  for  the  working  of  the  turquoise  mines,  for  in 
Egypt  steles  are  always  sepulchral  and  rarely  iD scribed 
on  more  than  one  face,  while  here  they  are  usually  in- 
scribed on  all  four  sides,  and  are  purely  devotional 
(Petrie).  The  oldest  of  them  belong  to  Usertesen  I. 
(2748  B.C.)  and  Amenemhat  TIL  (2622  B.C.),  both  of 
the  twelfth  dynasty. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  this  custom  is  not  originally 
Egyptian,  but  Semitic,  and  was  practised  in  Sinai  and 
Palestine  at  a  very  early  date,  while  the  Egyptians 
adopted  it  when  they  were  living  among  people  who 
observed  it.  In  later  times  the  Greeks  practised  this 
custom  in  Egypt  at  the  Serapeion  of  Memphis,  at  that 
of  Kanobos,  and  at  the  Temple  of  Abydos,  but  in  early 
times  it  was  rarely,  if  at  all,  observed  in  Egypt.  It 
had  all  along  been  a  favourite  custom  in  Syria  and 
Greece.  The  sick  went  regularly  to  the  shrine  of 
Asclepios  at  Epidaurus  to  sleep  there,  so  that  the  god 
might  give  them  in  dream  some  direction  for  the  cure 
of  their  ailments  (Petrie,  "  Sinai,"  p.  64  seq.).  The  story 
of  Jacob  at  Bethel  shows  us,  that  wherever  one  had  a 
striking  religious  dream,  it  was  immediately  inferred 
that  the  place  was  sacred,  and  the  next  step  was  to  erect 
and  anoint  a  pillar  as  a  memorial  of  the  dream.  Thus 
gradually  a  place  gained  a  reputation  for  sanctity,  and 
became  the  continual  resort  of  those  who  sought  direct 
guidance  from  the  deity  by  oracular  dreams. 

In  2  Kings  xvii.  26-41  Dr  Petrie  finds  an  interesting 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  75 


parallel  to  the  adoption  of  this  Sinaitic  custom  by  the 
Egyptians,  while  they  were  stationed  at  the  mines. 
There  the  King  of  Assyria  is  informed  that  the  people, 
whom  he  has  placed  in  the  cities  of  Samaria,  are  suffer- 
ing because  they  know  not  the  manner  of  the  god  of 
the  land."  He  therefore  orders  a  priest  to  be  brought 
back  and  placed  among  them  to  teach  them  the  religion 
of  their  adopted  country.  "  Then  some  of  the  priests, 
whom  they  had  carried  away  from  Samaria,  came  and 
dwelt  in  Bethel,  and  taught  them  how  they  should  fear 
the  Lord."  The  outcome  was  that,  while  they  con- 
tinued to  worship  their  own  gods,  they  observed  also 
the  worship  of  Jehovah — ''so  these  nations  feared  the 
Lord  and  served  their  graven  images."  The  Egpytians 
did  exactly  the  same  thing  in  Sinai.  The  goddess 
Hat-hor,  the  great  mother,  was  worshipped  at  Serabit, 
by  Egyptian  miners,  on  a  Semitic,  not  Egyptian,  system. 
To  this  they  conformed,  but  they  brought  in  also  their 
own  gods,  as  seen  on  their  monuments  in  the  district. 
"  They  feared  the  goddess  of  the  land,  and  served  their 
own  gods  after  their  manner." 

While,  therefore,  it  may  be  correct  to  say  that  the 
seeking  of  oracular  dreams  was  an  Egyptian  custom  in 
the  days  of  Joseph,  it  is  scarcely  correct  to  say  that  it 
was  an  "  Egyptian  rather  than  Palestinian  custom." 
The  fact  appears  to  be  that  the  custom  was  long 
practised  in  Sinai  and  Syria  before  the  Egyptians 
adopted  it. 

3.  Pharaoh's  Dreams. — Sevex  Years'  Famine. —  The 
Famines  appear  to  have  occurred  from  time  to  time  in 
Egypt,  and  records  of  several  are  preserved.    Thus  we  Pharaoh, 
find  Amenemha,  who  died  about  2716  B.C.,  recording 


76      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


on  his  tomb  at  Beni-hasan_,  how  carefully  he  had 
abstained  from  oppression  of  the  people  in  his  district, 
and  how,  "  when  a  famine  arose,"  "  he  gave  nourishment 
and  life  to  its  inhabitants."  This  cannot  be  the  famine 
referred  to  in  Genesis,  as  it  belongs  to  a  much  earlier 
date.  A  still  more  interesting  example  is  the  famine 
which  occurred  in  the  time  of  Beby,  an  official  of  the 
reign  of  Seqenen-Ra  III.  (1610-1597  B.C.),  the  last  but 
one  of  the  Hyksos  kings.  This  Beby  must  have  been 
almost,  if  not  quite,  a  contemporary  of  Joseph,  for 
according  to  the  chronology  generally  accepted,  the  year 
1645  B.C.,  or  thereby,  is  the  date  of  the  arrival  of  his 
brethren  in  Egypt.  In  the  translation  of  Brugsch,  Beby 
begins  with  the  enumeration  of  his  own  good  qualities, 
mentioning  particularly  his  respect  for  his  parents,  his 
general  benevolence,  and  the  goodwill  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  towards  him.  Then  he  adds  :  "I  collected  the 
harvest,  a  friend  of  the  harvest-god.  I  w^as  watchful  at 
the  time  of  sowing.  And  now,  when  a  famine  arose, 
lasting  many  years,  I  issued  corn  to  the  city  to  each 
hungry  person."  Though  there  is  no  evidence  to 
justify  our  regarding  this  as  the  famine  referred  to  in 
Genesis,  yet  it  is  of  great  value  in  the  way  of  illustration. 
It  shows  sufficiently  that  a  famine  of  several  years' 
duration  was  nothing  uncommon. 

In  the  Biblical  narrative  the  word  "  seven "  is  uni- 
versally regarded  as  a  round  number,  equivalent  to  our 
word  many  or  several. 
Apophis,       The  Pharaoh  under  whom  Joseph  served  is  named 
Pharaoh  ^P^P^is  or  Afofis  by  Josephus  and  Syncelles.  This 
of  Joseph.  Apophis  (Apepy)  is  said  to  have  ruled  at  Hawar, 
identified  with  Avaris,  and  to  have  worshipped  Sutekh, 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  77 


who  is  the  same  as  Ea,  the  Sun-god.  The  date  assigned 
to  him  is  about  1650  B.C.  Arabic  tradition  gives  the 
name  of  the  Pharaoh  of  Joseph  as  Ra-ian  ibn  el 
Walid  (son  of  Walid).  Curiously  enough,  in  his  work 
at  Bubastis,  Dr  Naville  found  a  block  of  stone  with  the 
name  Apophis,  and  near  it  the  lower  part  of  a  black 
granite  statue  with  the  name  Ra-ian,  or  lan-ra,  inscribed. 
It  is  impossible  to  prove  which  tradition  is  correct,  but 
there  is  no  getting  beyond  the  fact  that  if  he  was  in 
Egypt  at  all,  Joseph  must  have  been  a  contemporary  of 
one  of  the  latest  of  the  Hyksos  kings. 

In  Gen.  xli.  14  we  read  that  Joseph  "shaved  himself, 
and  changed  his  raiment,  and  came  in  unto  Pharaoh." 
In  shaving  himself  Joseph  was  conforming  to  Egyptian 
custom  in  the  face  of  Semitic  prejudice,  which  was  all 
along  opposed  to  the  practice.  His  marriage  with  the 
Egyptian  Asenath,  a  name  which  means  belonging  to 
the  goddess  Neith,"  is  a  further  indication  of  how  he 
sought  to  accommodate  himself  to  the  natives  of  his 
adopted  country.  So  also  was  his  use  of  the  Egyptian 
name  Zaphnath-paaneah,  or  better,  Zaphen-ath-pa'eneakh 
(Pinches),  which  means  "  God,  the  living  one,  hath 
spoken  "  (Steindorff).  This  name  he  probably  received 
or  assumed  in  commemoration  of  the  service  which  he 
rendered  to  Pharaoh  in  interpreting  his  dreams. 

4.  ZoAN  OR  Tanis. — The  place  at  which  Joseph  met  The 
the  Pharaoh  on  this  occasion  might  have  been  Bubastis,  ^a^taf 
the  Egyptian  Pi-Bast,  the  Pi-Beseth  of  Ezek.  xxx.  17  ; 
or  Memphis,  the  Egyptian  Men-nofr,  the  Noph  of  Isa. 
xix.  13,  etc.;  or  Tanis,  the  Biblical  Zoan,  c/.  Isa.  xix. 
13,  etc.  Of  the  three  Zoan  is  the  most  probable, 
though  all  three  were  Hyksos  capitals.    In  1884  Dr 


78      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Petrie  found  at  Tanis  part  of  an  obelisk  of  the  thirteenth 
dynasty,  which  proves  the  occupation  of  the  place  before 
Hyksos  times.  Here  also  he  found  fragments  of  a 
colossal  statue  of  Rameses  II.,  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression, 
of  which  the  toe  alone  is  as  large  as  a  man's  body,  and 
this  shows  that  the  place  was  still  of  importance  at  that 
date.  But  though  he  sank  pits  in  the  town  ruins  to  a 
depth  of  thirty  feet,  in  order  to  reach  the  remains  of 
the  Ramesside  or  Hyksos  kings,  he  never  got  beneath 
the  deposits  of  Greek  and  Roman  times.  Zoan  appears, 
therefore,  to  have  been  a  place  of  great  size  and  im- 
portance from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  period  of 
Egyptian  civilisation.  It  was  in  the  burned  houses  of 
Zoan  that  Petrie  found  in  a  cellar  the  charred  papyri, 
which  he  unrolled  with  such  infinite  painstaking. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  Zoan  or  Tanis  was  the  capital 
of  the  Hyksos  for  some  time.  The  mounds  still  cover 
a  very  large  area,  and  here  also  Dr  Petrie  found  the 
Hyksos  sphinxes,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  whose 
expression  is  regarded  as  representing  the  "  coarse 
Hyksos  type  "  of  features.  It  is  also  pointed  to  as  a 
striking  fact,  that  at  the  modern  village  San  (Tanis)  the 
present  inhabitants  are  quite  distinct  in  type  from  the 
rest  of  the  Egyptians.  They  call  themselves  Melakiyin, 
which  means  Melekites  or  Royalists,  the  name  of  a  sect 
in  the  early  Christian  Church.  Anciently  they  were 
known  by  the  name  Pi-shemer,  corrupted  to  Bash- 
murites,  and  also  by  the  name  Pi-amu,  corrupted  to 
Biamites  (Pinches).  Amu  was  the  name  by  which 
the  Hyksos  were  known  in  Egypt. 
Oppres-  5.  THE  OPPRESSION  OF  ISRAEL. — During  part  of 
Israe^^     their  sojourn  at  least,  the  Pharaohs,  who  knew  not 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  79 


Joseph,  employed  the  Israelites  in  public  works, 
particularly  Rameses  II.,  the  great  builder  of  the 
Delta.  The  store-cities,  Pithom  and  Rameses,  are 
specially  mentioned  in  the  Bible  as  scenes  of  their 
enforced  labour,  but  they  were  probably  employed  in 
many  other  large  undertakings  in  the  Delta  by 
Rameses  II.  The  site  of  the  store-city,  Rameses,  has  Rameses. 
now  been  identified  and  is  elsewhere  described.  Pithom 
was  excavated  and  the  granaries  cleared  several  years 
ago  by  Dr  Naville.  It  was  then  remarked,  that  in 
the  bottom  rows  of  bricks  there  were  distinct  evidences 
of  straw  having  been  used  in  the  bricks  ;  in  the  middle 
rows,  half  way  up  the  wall,  reeds  or  sedge  had  been 
used,  while  the  uppermost  rows  of  all  showed  no  trace 
of  either.  This  was  regarded  as  a  remarkable  confir- 
mation in  detail  of  the  Biblical  narrative.  Recently, 
however,  a  careful  examination  of  many  of  the  upper- 
most bricks  by  breaking  them  showed,  that  in  all  of 
them  straw  or  reeds  had  been  used,  but  had  wasted 
away,  leaving  only  the  imprint  of  their  presence. 

Pithom,  or  Pa-tum,  "  the  house  of  Tum,  the  setting  Pithom. 
sun,"  is  now  known  as  Tell  el  Maskhutah,  the  mound 
of  the  Image.  The  civil  name  in  the  eighteenth  dynasty 
was  Thuku,  which  has  been  assimilated  to  the  Hebrew 
word  Succoth,"  meaning  "  booths,"  just  as  Mesu, 
"  child,"  was  assimilated  to  Moses,  "  drawn  out  of  the 
water." 

The  granaries  consisted  of  a  large  number  of  rect- 
angular chambers  with  very  thick  walls,  and  recesses  at  a 
certain  depth  as  if  for  the  reception  of  beams  to  support 
flooring.  They  are  all  absolutely  disconnected,  and  the 
only  means  of  access  had  been  from  the  roofs. 


80      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


There  is  little  doubt  as  to  the  purpose  which  these 
fortified  granaries  served.  They  were  used  for  the 
storage  of  supplies  in  view  of  journeys  or  campaigns 
across  the  desert  into  Syria. 

Kameses  II.  appears  to  have  been  the  original  builder, 
and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  not  a  single  brick  bears 
the  stamp  of  a  king's  name  (Naville).  Pithom  had 
obviously  been  a  garrison-fort  for  the  defence  of  the 
frontier,  and  perhaps  for  the  collecting  of  taxes  in  kind, 
while  it  served  the  purposes  mentioned  by  Naville  as 
well.  Though  it  had  had  a  temple  of  considerable  size, 
there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  town  of  any 
extent  connected  with  the  fort,  the  whole  area  covering 
a  comparatively  small  space. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  letter  from  the 
official  commander  of  this  fort  to  Merenptah.  The 
text  as  given  by  Dr  Sayce  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Another  matter  for  the  satisfaction  of  my  master  s 
heart.  We  have  allowed  the  tribes  of  the  Shasu 
(Bedawin)  from  the  land  Aduma  to  pass  the  fortress  of 
Merenptah  in  the  land  of  Thuku,  in  order  to  feed 
themselves  and  to  feed  their  herds  on  the  great  estate 
of  Pharaoh,  the  beneficent  sun  of  all  countries.  In  the 
year  8  (1226  B.C.)." 
The  6.  The  PtOUTE  of  the  Exodus. — The  exodus  of  a 

Exodus,  ^tioie  i^ace  with  all  its  belongings  is,  one  might  say, 
nothing  unusual  in  the  history  of  Egypt.  The 
Israelites  themselves  in  the  early  days  of  their  sojourn 
there  must  have  witnessed  the  exodus  of  the  Hyksos 
people  from  Avaris,  very  likely  by  the  same  route  as 
they  themselves  followed,  through  the  Wady  Tumilat 
to  the  Sinaitic  peninsula  and  thence  into  Canaan,  where 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  81 


tradition  credits  them  (the  Hyksos)  with  having  founded 
the  city  of  Jerusalem.  The  question  has  been  raised 
why  they  did  not  join  the  Hyksos  and  leave  Egypt  at 
that  time ;  but  the  period  of  their  oppression  had  not 
then  begun,  and  favourable  conditions  were  still  granted 
them  by  the  conquerors  of  the  Hyksos.  Dr  Sayce 
relates  an  exodus  of  quite  recent  date  from  the  Wady 
Tumilat  itself.  Mohammed  Ali  had  it  planted  with 
mulberry  trees,  and  induced  many  interested  in  the 
manufacture  of  silk  to  come  from  Syria  and  elsewhere 
and  settle  there.  As  long  as  he  lived  they  enjoyed 
immunity  from  taxation  and  military  service ;  but 
when  he  died  and  his  successor  determined  to  impose 
these  burdens  upon  them  in  spite  of  their  protest,  they 
packed  up  their  belongings  and  departed  suddenly  in  a 
night,  leaving  their  houses  open,  the  valley  deserted, 
and  returning  to  their  former  homes. 

The  most  recent  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of 
the  route  of  the  Exodus  has  been  made  by  Dr  Petrie  in 
his  book  on  Sinai.  The  treasure-city,  Rameses,  was 
their  rallying-centre  prior  to  final  departure.  This  has 
now  been  identified  as  the  modern  Tell  er  Retabeh,  near 
Qassassine,  and  the  finding  of  layers  of  ashes  around  its 
walls,  such  as  might  be  left  where  a  horde  of  tent- 
dwellers  had  encamped,  is  elsewhere  referred  to  (Exod. 
xii.  37). 

From  Rameses  they  marched  to  Succoth,  which  is  Succoth. 
the  district  then  known  as  Thuku,  the  region  round 
about  Pithom. 

Thence  they  marched  to  Etham,  which  Dr  Petrie  Etham. 
identifies  with  the  Aduma   of  the  letter  written  to 
Merenptah  from  Pithom,  and  quoted  above.  Aduma 

F 


82      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


seems  to  be  the  district  just  outside  the  frontier  of 
Egypt,  and  Etham  is  evidently  a  place  just  across  the 
frontier  at  the  east  end  of  Wady  Tumilat,  so  that  the 
identification  of  the  two  seems  highly  probable.  Prof. 
Sayce  has  identified  Aduma  with  the  land  of  Edom. 
It  is  quite  likely  that  the  name  was  used  to  describe 
the  land  of  the  Bedawin  bordering  on  Egypt  (Exod. 
xiii.  20). 

Pi-ha-  The  next  stage  of  the  journey  is  interesting,  because 
hiroth.  ^Yie  children  of  Israel  commanded  to  "  turn  and 

encamp  before  Pi-hahiroth,  between  Migdol  and  the 
sea,  over  against  Baal-zephon  ;  before  it  shall  ye  encamp 
by  the  sea  "  (Exod.  xiv.  2).  This  implies  that  for  some 
reason  they  had  to  change  their  route  slightly,  and  they 
pitched  on  a  spot  close  to  the  sea,  behind  which  there 
was  a  migdol-tower  on  the  hills,  and  Baal-zephon  facing 
them  across  the  gulf.  Pi-hahiroth  has  been  identified 
as  the  ancient  Paqaheret,  where  the  god  Osiris  was 
worshipped  (Naville).  The  only  Serapeion,  or  shrine  of 
Osiris,  known  in  this  vicinity  is  that  situated  about  ten 
miles  south  of  Ismailiyeh,  and  mentioned  in  the  Antonine 
Itinerary  as  being  eighteen  miles  from  Pithom.  This 
would  place  Pi-hahiroth  or  Paqaheret  a  short  distance 
above  the  northern  end  of  the  great  Bitter  Lake.  We 
know  that  in  early  times  the  Gulf  of  Suez  extended  even 
further  north  than  this  lake,  for  even  in  Eoman  times 
it  was  known  as  the  Gulf  of  Heroopolis,  which  is  the 
Greek  name  of  Pithom.  Pi-hahiroth,  therefore,  would 
then  have  been  situated  "  by  the  sea,"  and  would  thus 
accord  with  the  Biblical  statement. 

Up  to  Etham  they  appear  to  have  been  travelling 
due  east,  and  had  they  continued  would  have  crossed 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  83 


the  line  of  the  Suez  Canal.  But  from  Etham  they 
turned  south  and  marched  down  the  west  side  of  the 
Gulf  of  Pithom,  instead  of  rounding  the  head  of  the 
Gulf  as  might  have  been  expected.  Thus  "  they  were 
entangled  in  the  land,  and  the  wilderness  had  shut  them 
in "  (Exod.  xiv.  3).  It  has  recently  been  suggested 
that  they  changed  their  route  here  and  turned  south, 
because  that  was  the  only  road  which  afforded  a  supply 
of  fresh  water,  and  to  one  who  has  travelled  in  the 
desert  and  knows  that  the  selection  of  the  road  is 
entirely  governed  by  tlie  presence  or  absence  of  water 
this  explanation  must  carry  great  weight. 

Pi-hahiroth  we  may  therefore  accept  as  being  situated 
between  Lake  Timsah  and  the  Bitter  Lakes,  about  six 
miles  north  of  the  latter.  The  Gulf  had  extended  up 
to  and  beyond  them  in  these  days,  though  the  land 
between  them  and  Lake  Timsah  is  now  dry.  Opposite 
to  Pi-hahiroth  the  Gulf  would  have  been  at  its  shallowest, 
and  this  would  be  the  most  likely  place  for  the  "  strong 
east  wind "  to  blow  back  the  water  and  leave  a  dry 
crossing  (Exod.  xiv.  21).  Pharaoh's  expectation  (Exod. 
xiv.  3)  that  the  wilderness  would  shut  them  in  implied 
that  they  could  not  go  further  on  account  of  the  sea, 
nor  backward  without  meeting  his  pursuing  army,  nor 
could  they  continue  southward  with  any  hope  of  cross- 
ing the  Gulf,  and  this  gives  heightened  colour  to  the 
phenomenon  of  the  water  being  driven  back  by  the 
strong  wind,  inasmuch  as,  probably,  neither  he  nor  the 
Israelites  counted  on  such  an  event  taking  place. 

When  they  crossed  the  gulf  the  Israelites  found  Shur. 
themselves  in  the  wilderness  of  Shur,  and  "  they  went 
three  days  in  the  wilderness  and   found  no  water" 


84      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


(Exod.  XV.  22).  The  wilderness  of  Shur  was  thus  the 
desert  on  the  east  side  of  the  Gulf,  between  Lake 
Timsah  and  the  Bitter  Lakes.  The  other  references  to 
Shur  seem  to  accord  with  this  identification.  In 
Gen.  XXV.  18  it  is  described  as  Shur,  "which  is  before 
Egypt,"  and  in  Gen.  xvi.  7,  14  Hagar  fled  to  Beer- 
lahai-roi,  between  Kedesh  and  Bered,  in  the  way  to 
Shur.  Shur  must  have  been  somewhere  close  to  the 
eastern  frontier  of  Egypt  to  fit  these  references.  The 
three  days'  journey  finding  no  water,  Dr.  Petrie  says, 
exactly  suits  the  road  from  Suez  to  Wady  Gharandel, 

Marah—  and  the  bitter  wells  of  Marah  at  the  end  of  the  three 

Ha^wara  ^^^^  correspond  with  the  bitter  spring,  Ain  Hawara,  in 
the  Wady  Hawara,  on  the  same  route  and  two  hours 
short  of  Gharandel,  where  there  is  abundance  of  fresh 
water  "  with  only  a  suspicion  of  salt  in  it "  (Petrie). 

Elim.  Gharandel  is  thus  the  Elim  of  Exod.  xv.  27,  and  Ain 
Hawara  represents  the  wells  of  Marah,  so  that  after 
crossing  the  Gulf  the  Israelites  appear  to  have  marched 
south  by  the  eastern  side  of  the  Gulf.  Dr  Petrie's 
journey  on  foot  from  Suez  to  Gharandel  covered  exactly 
three  days,  so  that  from  Pi-hahiroth  the  Israelites'  three 
days'  journey  would  have  brought  them  to  Marah  (Ain 
Hawara),  and  early  on  the  fourth  day  they  reached 
Elim  (Gharandel),  a  two  hours'  stage,  where  there  were 
sweet  water  and  palm  trees,  still  a  feature  of  the  valley. 
According  to  Num.  xxxiii.  10  they  left  Elim  and  en- 
camped by  the  Red  Sea,  and  they  next  halted  in  the 

Sin.  wilderness  of  Sin,  which  in  Exod.  xvi.  1  is  said  to  be 
between  Elim  and  Sinai.  The  same  passage  also 
informs  us  that  they  reached  Sin  on  the  fifteenth  day 
of  the  second  month  after  their  departure.    Thus  the 


NEAR  GOSHEN  C1..METKKY 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  85 


journey  from  Rameses  to  the  Red  Sea,  which  we  pre- 
sume they  reached  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  second 
month,  occupied  exactly  one  month. 

From  this  it  appears  that  the  writer  of  the  Itinerary 
of  the  Israelites  was  well  acquainted  with  the  regular 
route  from  Egypt  to  Sinai,  viz.,  the  road  by  the 
eastern  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez.  His  description 
'  exactly  fits  that  road,  and  will  not  fit  any  other " 
(Petrie).  There  seems  also  no  reason  to  doubt  the 
traditionally  accepted  position  of  Sinai,  though  whether 
Jebel  Musa  or  Mount  Serbal  was  the  mount  of  the  Law 
is  still  an  open  question. 

The  only  other  possible  route  is  that  which  leads  Alterna- 
straight  across  the  peninsula  from  Pi-hahiroth  to  the  ^^^^ 
Gulf  of  Akabah.  Though  it  does  not  fit  in  with  the 
details  of  the  journey  already  mentioned,  it  has  been 
accepted  by  some  because  it  accords  with  the  fact  that 
the  Midianites  are  supposed  to  have  been  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Akabah.  There  appears, 
however,  to  be  no  evidence  to  prove  that  the  Midianites 
did  not  occupy  the  western  side  of  that  gulf  as  well, 
and  Dr  Petrie  farther  points  out  that,  in  Exod.  iv.  20, 
Moses  accomplished  the  journey  to  Midian  on  an  ass, 
a  feat  which  may  be  performed  on  the  Gharandel  road, 
but  which  "  could  scarcely  be  done  on  the  longer, 
waterless  route  of  the  Derb  el  Hagg,"  straight  across 
the  peninsula,  seeing  the  latter  would  involve  the 
carrying  of  considerably  more  than  three  days'  water 
for  the  journey.  The  land  of  Midian,  where  Jethro 
resided,  would  appear  to  have  been  so  accessible  to 
Egypt,  that  Moses  could  travel  between  the  two,  himself 
on  foot  and  his  wife  and  sons  set  upon  an  ass.  This 


86      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


seems  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  Midian  occupied 
land  on  this  side  of  the  Gulf. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  Israelites  would  have 
avoided  the  Gharandel  road  because  of  the  Egyptians 
stationed  at  the  turquoise  mines  of  Serabit ;  but  there 
never  was  a  permanent  Egyptian  garrison  there.  They 
merely  sent  mining  expeditions,  at  the  most  in  alternate 
years,  while  in  the  reign  of  Merenptah  they  were  sent 
only  once  in  many  years  (Petrie). 
Rephi-  Rephidim  has  been  identified  with  Pharan  by 
Christian  and  Arabic  writers,  which  Petrie  regards  as 
the  Wady  Feiran,  close  to  Mount  Serbal.  The  battle 
fought  with  Amalek  here  was  probably  for  the  pos- 
sessioQ  of  the  water  supply,  and  as  Feiran  has  the  best 
supply  in  the  peninsula,  this  strengthens  the  identifi- 
cation (Exod.  xvii.  1  ;  Num.  xxxiii.  14).  The  position 
also  is  just  the  one  which  the  natives  would  have 
chosen  to  repel  a  body  of  invaders. 
The  Yam-  A  further  objection  may  be  raised  to  the  Gharandel 
Red^Sea  ^^^^^  ground  of  the  identification  of  the  Yam- 

ofNum.  Suph  or  Red  Sea  (Num.  xxxiii.  10).  If  Rephidim  be 
xxxiii.  10.  YeirsLU,  the  Gulf  of  Suez  must  be  the  Yam-Suph 
referred  to.  Sayce,  however,  identifies  it  with  the  Gulf 
of  Akabah,  which  implies  that  the  route  led  straight 
across  the  peninsula.  He  points  out  that  in  the  days 
of  the  LXX.  translators  and  in  classical  times  the 
Yam-Suph  denoted  the  whole  of  the  sea  which  washed 
the  shores  of  Arabia,  and  thus  included  the  Gulfs  of 
Akabah  and  Suez,  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  Indian  Ocean 
and  Persian  Gulf  as  well  ;  but  thinks  that  in  the  Old 
Testament  the  term  is  used  in  a  much  narrower  sense. 
The  Ezion-geber  and  Elath  of  1  Kings  ix.  26,  where 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  87 


Solomon  built  his  navy  "  on  the  shore  of  the  Yana- 
Suph,  in  the  land  of  Edom,"  were  at  the  northern  end 
of  the  Gulf  of  Akabah,  and  so  he  concludes  that  the 
Yam-Suph  of  the  Old  Testament  was  this  gulf  He 
draws  the  same  conclusion  from  Num.  xxi.  4,  where  the 
Israelites  marched  from  Mount  Hor  by  the  way  of  the 
Yam-Suph,  and  skirted  its  east  side  to  compass  the  land 
of  Edom,  because  a  passage  was  refused  them  through 
it.  The  only  sea  which  will  suit  this  passage  is  the 
Gulf  of  Akabah.  The  town  Suph  (Deut.  i.  1),  which 
gave  the  name  to  the  sea,  was  in  the  land  of  Edom,  not 
far  from  Kadesh-barnea.  "  It  is  plain  therefore,"  he 
concludes,  that  the  Yam-Suph  crossed  by  the  Israelites 
at  the  Egyptian  frontier,  and  the  Yam-Suph  which 
they  subsequently  reached  (Num.  xxxiii.  10),  cannot 
have  been  one  and  the  same."  The  one  was  more 
than  three  days'  journey  from  the  other,  and  this 
"  distance  agrees  with  that  of  the  Gulf  of  Akabah  from 
the  Gulf  of  Suez." 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  distance  between  Pi-hahiroth 
and  Elim  as  identified  above  is  about  75  miles, 
while  between  it  and  the  nearest  point  of  the  Gulf  of 
Akabah  is  192  miles. 

So  far  as  the  data  mentioned  by  Prof.  Sayce  are 
concerned,  they  certainly  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  Gulf  of  Akabah  was  known  as  the  Yam-Suph,  but 
it  does  not  follow  that  the  term  Yam-Suph  did  not 
include  the  Gulf  of  Suez  as  well,  even  in  Old  Testa- 
ment times.  Besides,  in  Exod.  xv.  both  the  song  of 
deliverance  (v.  4)  and  the  continuation  of  the  narrative 
(v.  22)  described  the  sea  through  which  God  led  them 
at  Pi-hahiroth  as  the  Yam-Suph,  and  this  seems  hardly 


88      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


sufficient  reason  for  concluding  that  this  chapter  must 
on  that  account  be  a  later  interpolation  (see  Sayce 
''H.  C.  M.,"  p.  257). 

There  appears  to  be  no  reason  why  we  should  not 
assume  that  the  term  Yam-Suph  or  Eed  Sea  included 
both  gulfs  as  well  as  the  Sea  itself  in  Old  Testament 
times. 

Finally,  if  we  assume  that  the  mountain  of  the  Law 
was  the  place  of  sacrifice  three  days  distant  from  the 
frontier  of  Egypt,  which  was  given  out  as  the  object 
of  their  journey,  and  particularly  if  we  accept  Mount 
Serbal  and  not  Jebel  Musa  (the  traditional  Sinai)  as 
the  mount  of  the  Law,  the  route  due  south  by  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez  receives  yet  another 
confirmation  of  its  accuracy. 
The  7.  The  Number  of  the  Israelites. — In  view  of  the 

Israeh^  possible  sustenance  available  both  in  Goshen  and  in 
Sinai  the  census  of  Israel  given  in  Xum.  i.  and  xxvi. 
have  been  submitted  to  searching  criticism  by  Dr  Petrie. 
He  has  propounded  as  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  the 
theory,  that  instead  of  translating  Alaf  by  "  thousands," 
we  ought  to  render  it  "tents"  or  "families."  In  this 
way  he  finds  that  Census  I.  (Num.  i.)  gives  a  total  of 
598  tents,  5  550  people,  and  Census  II.  (Num.  xxvi.), 
taken  at  the  end  of  their  wanderings,  a  total  of  596 
tents,  5730  people. 

Whether  this  is  the  actual  explanation  in  the  case  of 
these  two  census  or  not,  there  are  various  considerations 
which  point  to  the  fact  that  the  numbers  must  have 
been  much  smaller  than  has  hitherto  been  supposed. 

(1)  The  present  population  of  Sinai  is  represented 
at  about  5000,  and  there  is  no  likelihood  of  its  ever 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  89 


having  been  larger,  since  the  climate  and  the  conditions 
of  living  appear  to  have  undergone  no  material  altera- 
tion. If  we  suppose  that  the  Amalekite  inhabitants 
then  numbered  about  5000,  and  bear  in  mind  that  the 
battle  between  them  and  Israel  was  nearly  equal  (Exod. 
xvii.  11),  we  cannot  reasonably  assume  that  the  Israelites 
numbered  much  over  5000. 

(2)  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  census  numbers  are 
correct,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  such  a  multi- 
tude could  have  found  sustenance  for  themselves  and 
their  flocks.  The  scarcity  of  water  and  the  necessarily 
consequent  scarcity  of  fodder  seem  to  have  been  char- 
acteristic of  the  peninsula  then  as  now,  and  it  has  been 
computed  that  the  rainfall  has  rather  increased  than 
diminished  since  these  days. 

It  is  indeed  equally  impossible  for  3,000,000  people 
to  have  subsisted  with  their  flocks,  either  in  Goshen  or 
in  Sinai.  The  agricultural  conditions,  as  well  as  the 
limited  area,  alike  render  it  impossible  in  each  case. 
At  the  most  Goshen  could  support  only  20,000  of  a 
settled  population,  and  when  that  population  consisted 
of  nomad  shepherds,  cultivating  none  of  the  land,  it 
could  support  still  fewer.  The  number  3,000,000, 
which  would  represent  a  fighting  force  of  600,000  men, 
would  probably  exceed  the  population  of  the  whole 
Delta,  and  the  removal  of  such  a  horde  could  hardly 
have  been  passed  over  in  silence  in  Egyptian  annals. 

(3)  Again,  5000  people  might  reasonably  be  stated 
to  be  under  the  judicial  control  of  one  man,  but  it 
seems  a  somewhat  impossible  undertaking  for  Moses  to 
"judge  the  disputes"  that  might  arise  in  so  vast  a 
company  as  three  millions.    Even  the  appointment  of 


90      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


seventy  elders  to  assist  him  in  the  work  was  totally 
inadequate  for  the  management  of  such  a  multitude. 

(4)  Dr  Petrie  claims  that  the  number  of  those  who 
perished  in  the  plague  after  the  rebellion  of  Korah 
confirms  his  theory.  There  died  14  Alaf  and  700, 
which  "means  14  complete  tents,  about  180  people, 
while  570  died  from  other  families"  (Num.  xvi.  49). 

Similarly  in  the  next  plague  (Num.  xxv.  9)  24  Alaf 
were  swept  away,  i.e.  24  complete  families.  This 
occurred  owing  to  the  mixture  with  Midian,  in  which 
the  tribe  of  Simeon  was  deeply  concerned,  and  Dr  Petrie 
points  out  that  in  the  latter  census  (Num.  xxvi.)  the 
number  of  Alaf  in  the  case  of  Simeon  has  fallen  from  59 
in  the  first  census  to  22. 

In  the  case  of  these  two  census  this  theory  appears 
to  work  out  satisfactorily,  and  when  they  are  tabulated 
side  by  side  it  will  be  found  that  by  taking  the  Alaf  as 
families,  or  tents,  we  get  an  average  of  ten  for  each  tent, 
which  is  quite  a  reasonable  computation.  It  is  notice- 
able also  that  in  no  case  do  we  find  an  even  number  of 
thousands.  But  in  the  case  of  the  census  of  the  Levites 
it  does  not  hold  good.  Num.  iii.  22  seq.  gives  a  total 
of  22,000  Levites  and  22,273  first-born  of  all  Israel, 
while  the  census  of  Num.  iv.  gives  the  total  at  8580 
Levites,  this  being  probably  thirty  or  forty  years  later. 
These  numbers  will  not  even  conform  to  the  former 
census  of  all  Israel,  for  this  total  of  first-born  males  is 
far  too  small  a  proportion  for  603,500  men.  Dr  Petrie 
therefore  concludes  that  these  census  of  the  Levites 
belong  to  a  later  date,  say  between  the  Exodus  and  the 
monarchy  after  their  entrance  into  Canaan,  and  that 
the  Levites  did  not  exist  as  a  tribe  until  then.  This 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  91 


is  confirmed  by  the  significant  fact  that  Levi  is  not 
separately  blessed  by  Jacob,  but  conjointly  with 
Simeon,  and  very  probably  Levi  has  been  inserted  in 
the  document  of  the  blessing  after  it  existed  as  a 
tribe. 

The  census  of  the  monarchy  presents  similar  difficulties. 
David  gives  800,000  for  Israel  and  500,000  for  Judah. 
Rehoboam  gives  only  180,000  men  for  Judah  and 
Benjamin  together.  If  we  take  the  latter  as  the 
number  of  fighting  men  and  the  former  as  the  whole 
population,  the  total  1,300,000  would  give  130  to  the 
square  mile,  which  would  be  quite  reasonable  for  the 
whole  of  Palestine. 

The  increase  of  5000  to  1,300,000  in  the  200  years 
between  the  Exodus  and  David  gives  a  proportion  of 
1  :  200,  and  even  admitting  that  on  their  arrival  in 
Palestine  they  were  joined  by  Israelites,  who  had  never 
left  Palestine  or  had  returned  from  Egypt  before  as  the 
stele  of  Merenptah  suggests,  this  seems  a  very  high  rate 
of  increase.  It  deals  a  somewhat  heavy  blow  at  Dr 
Petrie's  theory,  for  in  view  of  this  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  in  their  430  years'  sojourn  in  Egypt  70  souls  had 
not  increased  to  more  than  5000.  At  the  same  rate 
of  iDcrease  they  ought  to  have  numbered  at  least 
20,000  at  the  date  of  the  Exodus. 

Whether  the  solution  offered  here  by  Dr  Petrie  be 
accepted  or  not,  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  the 
numbers  in  the  Exodus  census  are  far  in  excess  of  the 
possibility  ;  while  on  the  other  hand  the  total  at  which 
he  arrives  is  much  more  in  accordance  with  the  number 
which  either  Sinai  or  Goshen  might  reasonably  be 
expected  to  maintain.    The  chief  difficulty  seems  to 


92      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


be  to  explain  how  only  5000  Israelites  left  Goshen  after 
so  long  a  stay.  It  is  now,  however,  an  established  fact 
that  there  was  a  continual  immigration  of  "  foreigners  " 
into  Egypt  from  Sinai  and  Palestine  and  other  parts, 
and  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  the  possibility  of 
continual  emigration  from  Egypt  to  Syria.  It  is  quite 
likely  that  there  was  a  constant  return  of  the  surplus 
population  of  Israelites  to  Palestine  going  on,  and  this 
would  explain  why  so  small  a  number  remained  there 
at  the  Exodus,  as  well  as  why  Merenptah  found  and 
conquered  Israelites  in  North  Palestine  a  short  time 
before  the  Exodus  (see  Israelite  Stele). 

8.  Chronology  of  the  Israelite  Sojourn. — It 
is  now  a  universally  accepted  fact  that  the  visits  of 
Abraham,  Jacob,  and  Joseph  to  Egypt  occurred  in  the 
period  of  the  Hyksos  kings.  According  to  Manetho 
this  dynasty  reigned  in  all  about  511  years,  and  from 
various  data  Dr  Petrie  has  fixed  them  down  to  the 
period  2098-1587  B.C.,  the  latter  being  the  date  of 
their  expulsion  by  Aahmes.  From  the  information 
that  soon  after  Joseph's  death  a  new  king  arose,  who 
knew  not  Joseph,  we  infer  that  he  must  have  flourished 
under  one  of  the  later  Hyksos  kings,  and  the  other 
evidence  at  our  command  confirms  this  supposition. 
Date  Egyptian  history  has  supplied  us  with  a  fixed  date, 

Exodus.  ^^^^01"^  which  the  Exodas  cannot  have  taken  place. 

Rameses  III.  (1202-1170  B.C.)  records  the  conquest 
in  the  early  years  of  his  reign  of  a  horde  of  Syrian 
and  Palestinian  confederates  on  the  temple  walls  of 
Medinet  Habu.  He  mentions  the  Hittites  and  Philis- 
tines and  others,  but  makes  no  reference  to  the 
Israelites.    His  last  invasion  of  Syria  took  place  in 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  93 


the  fifteenth  year  of  his  reign,  1187  B.C.  ("Pet.  Hist.," 
iii.  115). 

The  Israelites  therefore  cannot  have  been  in  possession 
of  Palestine  at  that  date,  but  had  probably  left  Egypt 
and  were  in  the  wilderness.  Thus  the  date  of  the 
'Exodus  must  fall  between  1187  and  1227  B.C.,  or 
somewhere  in  the  reign  of  Merenptah,  who  ruled  from 
1234-1214  B.C.  As  we  shall  see  further  on,  the  Exodus 
must  have  occurred  within  the  last  few  years  of 
Merenptah's  reign,  or  about  1215  B.C.  Even  if  we 
suppose  that  Rameses  III.  somehow  omitted  to  mention 
the  Israelites,  we  should  have  expected  to  find  a  refer- 
ence to  his  invasion  in  the  account  of  Joshua's  wars. 
Taking  1215  B.C.  as  the  date  of  the  Exodus,  and  adding 
the  430  years  of  their  sojourn,  we  get  1645  B.C.  as 
the  year  of  the  arrival  of  Joseph's  brethren  in  Egypt, 
about  seventy  years  before  the  final  expulsion  of  the 
Hyksos,  and  just  in  the  period  when  their  troubles  were 
beginning  to  press  hard  upon  them. 

The  fact  that  the  Hyksos  were  themselves  Semitic, 
or  "  wandering  hordes  of  Bedawin  Asiatics,  called  by 
the  Egyptians  '  the  impure ' "  (Pinches),  sufficiently 
explains  the  friendly  reception  accorded  to  Joseph  and 
his  family  and  his  speedy  promotion.  There  is  only 
one  other  period  in  Egyptian  history  when  a  similar 
cordial  reception  might  have  been  given  them.  This 
was  in  the  reign  of  Khu-n-aten  of  the  eighteenth 
dynasty  (1383-1365  B.C.),  who  was  strongly  Syrian 
in  his  sympathies,  was  under  the  influence  of  a  Syrian 
wife  (see  T.A.  Letters),  and  introduced  the  Aten 
worship  of  Syria.  In  his  reign  we  actually  find  one 
Dudu  by  name,  a  Canaanite,  holding  practically  the 


94      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


same  position  as  Joseph.  To  place  Joseph  in  this  reign 
would  allow  a  period  of  only  170  years  for  their  stay 
in  Egypt  instead  of  the  430  years  of  Scripture,  if  we 
retain  1215  as  the  Exodus  date;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  we  place  the  Exodus  later  we  are  in  still  greater 
difficulties  when  we  come  to  consider  the  Biblical 
chronology  of  the  Judges. 

Since  the  discovery  of  the  Tell  el  Amarna  letters  and 
the  mention  in  them  of  the  Khabiri,  Lieblein  has 
identified  these  with  the  Hebrews,  and  this  would  place 
the  Exodus  somewhere  in  the  forty  years  preceding  the 
date  of  these  letters,  or  about  1460  B.C.  But  it  is  now 
agreed  that  the  word  Khabiri  has  no  reference  to  the 
Hebrews,  and  means  simply  "confederates." 

The  Israelite  Stele. — All  the  evidence  which  we 
possess  points  to  Merenptah  as  the  Pharaoh  of  the 
Exodus,  and  yet  a  curious  complication  has  arisen 
through  the  discovery  by  Dr  Petrie  in  1896  of  the 
stele  of  Merenptah,  generally  known  as  the  Israelite 
Stele.  This  is  the  only  monument  yet  found  with  the 
name  Israel  inscribed  on  it,  the  only  mention  of  Israel, 
in  fact,  that  we  have  from  Egypt.  The  concluding  lines 
are  translated  by  Dr  Pinches  as  follows  : — 

"  Kheta  (the  land  of  the  Hittites)  is  in  peace,  captive 
is  Canaan  and  full  of  misery,  Askelon  is  carried  away, 
Gezer  is  taken,  Yenuamma  is  non-existent,  Israel  is 
lost,  his  seed  is  not,  Syria  is  like  the  widows  of  Egypt. 
The  totality  of  all  the  lands  is  at  peace,  for  whosoever 
rebelled  was  chastised  by  King  Merenptah." 

Read  thus  this  inscription  implies  that  while  one 
branch  of  the  Israelites  was  in  slavery  in  Egypt,  a 
section  of  the  race  was  at  this  time  already  in  Canaan, 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  95 


probably  having  never  left  it,  and  was  there  rebelling 
against  the  Egyptian  yoke. 

Naville  suggests  that  the  words,  "  Israel  is  lost,"  refer 
to  the  Israelites  as  wandering  in  the  desert,  while  the 
words,  his  seed  is  not,"  refer  to  the  slaughter  of  the 
first-born. 

Dr  Mahler  translates  it,  "  Yenoam  has  been  brought 
to  naught ;  Israel,  the  horde,  destroyed  his  crops,"  a 
fact  which  Pinches  observes  seems  scarcely  worthy  of 
mention  on  the  monument  of  an  Egyptian  king. 
Assuming  from  this  inscription  that  Israel  was  already 
in  Canaan  during  Merenptah's  reign,  Mahler  places 
the  Exodus  in  the  reign  of  Rameses  II.,  the  last  of  the 
oppressors,  and  by  astronomical  calculations  fixes  it  on 
Thursday,  the  27th  of  March  1335  B.C. 

Since  Moses  was  eighty  years  old  at  the  Exodus,  this 
means  that  he  was  born  in  1415  B.C.,  and  Pinches 
points  out  that  at  that  time  the  chief  wife  of  the 
Pharaoh  was  Queen  Thyi,  herself  probably  a  Syrian, 
and  of  a  different  religion  from  the  Egyptians.  Naturally, 
therefore,  she  would  not  be  a  favourite  with  the 
Egyptian  priesthood.  The  daughter  of  this  queen 
would  thus  have  found  little  or  no  opposition  to  her 
adopting  a  child  of  the  Hebrews,  an  Asiatic  like  her 
mother.  This  would  also  explain  how  Moses,  though 
educated  at  the  Egyptian  Court,  never  became  Egyptian 
in  his  sympathies.  Dr  Pinches  is  therefore  inclined  to 
favour  Mahler's  theory. 

Apparently  neither  of  them  explains  why  no  mention 
of  the  Israelites  is  made  by  Rameses  III.,  when  about 
105  years  after  the  accession  of  Rameses  II.  he  subdued 
the  rebellious  confederates  in  Palestine  and  Northern 


96      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Syria.  According  to  Mahler's  chronology  Rameses  II. 
began  to  reign  in  1365  B.C.,  the  date  assigned  by  him 
for  the  Exodus,  1335  B.C.,  being  the  thirtieth  year  of 
his  reign.  The  invasion  of  Palestine  by  Rameses  III. 
would  therefore  fall  about  1260  B.C.  Allowing  forty 
years  for  the  wandering  in  the  wilderness,  the  Israelites 
should  then  have  been  in  Canaan  for  thirty-five  years. 
It  is  strange  that  no  reference  to  this  invasion  of 
Rameses  III.  should  be  found  in  the  Book  of  Joshua, 
nor  any  mention  of  them  by  Rameses.  Further,  since 
Rameses  II.  reigned  in  all  sixty-six  years,  Merenptah 
succeeded  him  about  1300  B.C.,  and  ruled  twenty  years, 
to  1280  B.C.  Thus  if  the  Exodus  took  place  in  1335, 
the  Israelites  did  not  reach  Palestine  till  1295  B.C.,  and 
they  could  not  have  had  much  hold  of  Palestine  at  the 
time  when  by  his  inscription  Merenptah  conquered 
them,  for  the  stele  dates  before  the  eighth  year  of  his 
reign.  Accepting  the  fact,  however,  that  they  were 
already  in  possession  of  even  North  Palestine  during  this 
invasion  of  Merenptah,  we  should  again  expect  to  find 
his  attack  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  the  early  wars 
of  Israel,  more  especially  when  Merenptah  deems  it 
worthy  of  mention. 

In  view  of  these  facts  Dr  Mahler's  theory  appears  to 
raise  as  serious  difficulties  as  that  of  finding  one  section 
of  Israel  in  Palestine  while  another  is  still  in  slavery  in 
Egypt,  and  the  difficulties  are  increased  when  we  come 
to  discuss  the  chronology  from  Rehoboam  backwards. 

Dr  Naville's  suggestion  seems  an  easy  solution  of  the 
difficulty,  but  it  is  hard  to  see  why  the  voluntary 
exodus  of  Israel  should  be  dragged  in  to  swell  the  lists 
of  Merenptah's  conquests. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  97 


The  suggestion  that  for  Israel  on  the  stele  the  word 
Jezreel  should  be  read  has  never  been  seriously 
considered. 

9.  Chronology  of  the  Judges. — In  the  later  history 
of  Israel  we  find  another  fixed  date  from  which  we  can 
work  back  by  the  periods  given  in  the  Old  Testament 
and  reach  almost  precisely  the  same  date  for  the  Exodus. 
1  Kings  xiv.  25  contains  an  account  of  the  campaign 
made  against  Judah  and  Jerusalem  by  Shishak  of  the 
twenty-first  dynasty,  in  which  he  took  the  fenced  cities 
of  Judaea,  and  spoiled  the  house  of  Jahveh  and  the 
king's  house.  2  Chron.  xii.  2  seq.  gives  a  fuller  though 
practically  the  same  account.  Both  passages  give  the 
fifth  year  of  Rehoboam  as  the  date  of  this  campaign. 
On  the  southern  outside  wall  of  the  Temple  of  Karnak 
at  Luxor,  Shishak's  own  account  of  this  Syrian  expedition 
is  portrayed,  and  from  it  we  gather  that  his  sphere  of 
operations  was  practically  limited  to  Judaea  and 
Samaria.  The  Biblical  account  and  that  of  the  monu- 
ment are  in  perfect  accordance.  From  Jewish  chronology, 
strengthened  by  Assyrian  synchronisms,  the  year  937 
B.C.  has  been  fixed  as  the  beginning  of  Rehoboam's 
reign,  so  that  this  inroad  took  place  about  932  B.C., 
which  is  thus  the  twentieth  year  of  Shishak.  A  curious 
attempt  has  been  made  to  explain  away  Shishak  in 
these  passages  as  a  corruption  of  the  word  Cushi,  but 
the  evidence  of  his  monument  cannot  be  thus  discarded. 

David  and  Solomon  each  reigned  forty  years,  so  that 
the  year  of  David's  accession  and  the  death  of  Saul  is 
approximately  1017  B.C.  We  know  that  Saul  was 
reproved  by  Samuel  in  the  second  year  of  his  reign 
(1  Sam.  xiii.  14),  and  David  anointed  as  his  successor 
G 


98      THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


the  following  year  (1  Sam.  xvi.  13).  In  2  Sam.  v.  4 
we  find  that  David  was  thirty  years  old  when  Saul  died. 
Since  David  cannot  have  been  much  under  or  over 
twenty  years  of  age  when  he  was  anointed,  it  follows, 
therefore,  that  Saul's  reign  cannot  have  covered  a  period 
of  more  than  three  years  before  David  was  chosen,  and 
ten  years  after  that,  or  thirteen  years  in  all,  though 
Acts  xiii.  21  assigns  to  him  a  reign  of  forty  years. 

This  seems  to  be  convincingly  established  by  the 
passage  1  Sam.  vii.  2,  where  we  learn  that  the  ark 
remained  twenty  years  in  the  house  of  Abinadab  at 
Kirjath-jearim,  having  been  placed  there  shortly  before 
Saul  was  appointed  king.  In  2  Sam.  vi.  2  we  find 
that  in  the  early  years  of  his  reign  David  brought  the 
ark  from  the  house  of  Abinadab  to  Jerusalem,  the  city 
of  David."  We  know  from  2  Sam.  v.  5-7  that  David 
reigned  seven  years  in  Hebron  before  he  took  "  the 
stronghold  of  Zion,  the  city  of  David,"  and  immediately 
after  taking  Zion  he  resolved  to  bring  back  the  ark. 
Thus  the  return  of  the  ark  must  have  taken  place  in 
the  seventh  or  eighth  year  of  David's  reign,  and  as  the 
ark  was  in  the  house  of  Abinadab  before  Saul  was 
anointed  king,  Saul's  reign  cannot  have  exceeded 
twelve  years. 

Thus  1030  B.C.  represents  the  date  of  Saul's  accession, 
and  taking  1215  B.C.  as  the  date  of  the  Exodus,  and 
1175  B.C.  the  consequent  date  of  the  entrance  of  Joshua 
into  Canaan,  we  are  left  with  145  years  to  represent 
the  period  of  the  Judges  from  Joshua  to  Saul,  and 
185  years  as  that  between  the  Exodus  and  Saul's 
accession,  or  197  years  between  the  Exodus  and  David's 
accession. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  99 


The  Priestly  Genealogies. — Valuable  corrobora- 
tive evidence  is  acquired  from  a  study  of  the  priestly 
genealogies  of  1  Chron.  vi.  According  to  verses  4-8, 
there  were  eight  generations  of  priests  between  the 
Exodus  and  the  time  of  David,  viz.  Eleazar,  Phinehas 
Abishua,  Bukki,  Uzzi,  Zerahiah,  Meraioth,  Amariah, 
Ahitub.  Ahitub  we  know  was  a  contemporary  of 
David,  and  Eleazar  was  the  son  of  Aaron. 

In  verses  33-35  we  get  the  genealogy  of  Heman,  the 
singer,  from  Elkanah,  the  son  of  Korah  of  the  Exodus 
period  (Exod.  vi.  24),  and  Heman  is  here  appointed  by 
David  as  one  that  "  waited."  This  again  supplies  us 
with  eight  generations  for  the  period. 

Verses  36  and  37  give  unnecessary  repetitions,  or 
contain  names  that  belong  to  a  later  date  (Petrie). 

The  genealogy  of  Asaph,  who  "  waited  "  with  Heman, 
also  gives  eight  generations  for  the  same  period,  for  in 
his  list  Adaiah  falls  to  be  the  contemporary  of  Zuph  of 
Heman's  list,  both  being  four  generations  removed  from 
Levi. 

The  following  are  the  tabulated  lists  : — 
1  Chron. 


vi.  4-8. 

V.  37. 

t;^.  33-35. 

1  Sam.  i. 

vv.  39-42. 

Eleazar 

Elkanah 

Ethan 

Phinehas 

Ebiasaph 

Zuph 

Zuph 

Adaiah 

Abishua 

Tahath 

Toah 

Tohu 

Zerah 

Bukki 

Eliel 

Elihu 

Ethni 

TJzzi 

J  eroham 

Jeroham 

Malchiah 

Zerahiah 

Elkanah 

Elkanah 

Baaseiah 

Meraioth 

Shemuel 

Samuel 

Michael 

Amariah 

Joel 

Shimea 

Ahitub 

Heman 

Asaph 

100    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Now  in  the  genealogies  of  the  kings  there  are  sixteen 
generations  given  between  Rehoboam  and  Jehoiakim, 
representing  a  period  of  340  years,  937-597  B.C. 
(Petrie),  for  Jehoiakim  was  placed  on  the  throne  by 
Pharaoh  Necho  IL,  who  ruled  from  610-594  B.C.  (see 
2  Kings  xxiii.  34).  Presumably,  therefore,  twenty-five 
years  would  be  a  fair  average  to  allow  for  a  generation. 
The  eight  generations  from  the  Exodus  to  David  thus 
cover  a  period  of  about  200  years.  Adding  200  years 
to  1017  B.C.  we  get  1217  B.C.  as  the  date  of  the 
Exodus,  and  1177  B.C.  as  the  date  of  the  entrance  of 
Joshua  into  Canaan.  This  gives  147  years  as  the  time 
between  Joshua  and  Saul. 

We  may  here  note  that  Eleazar  was  in  the  full 
exercise  of  his  priesthood  at  the  date  of  the  Exodus, 
and  had  married  a  negro  woman,  the  daughter  of 
Putiel,  for  his  son  bears  an  Egyptian  name,  Phinehas,  or 
Pa-nehsi,  "  the  negro." 

The  Book  of  Judges. — When  we  examine  the  list 
of  judges  given  in  the  Book  of  Judges,  we  find  that 
they  fall  into  three  divisions  according  to  the  districts 
which  represented  their  several  spheres  of  action. 
When  trouble  arose  in  the  north,  east,  or  west  and 
south,  a  deliverer  appears  to  have  arisen,  or  been 
appointed,  to  cope  with  each  emergency,  in  each  district. 
The  leader  thus  chosen,  or  self-made,  continued  in  most 
cases  throughout  his  life-time  to  be  looked  up  to,  and  to 
act,  as  the  defender  of  his  people.  A  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  book  shows  how  well  defined  is  the  sphere 
of  operation  of  each.  It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  a  single 
case  where  the  deliverer  of  one  of  these  three  districts 
is  found  operating  within  the  limits  of  another.  The 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


101 


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102    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


country,  which  became  united  under  Saul,  appears  to 
have  been  divided  into  three  sections  from  the  death  of 
Joshua  onwards,  viz.  the  North  and  Galilee ;  the  East, 
with  Moab  and  Ammon  as  the  aggressors  ;  the  West 
(Ephraim)  and  South,  with  the  Philistines  and  Midian 
as  oppressors. 

The  forty  years'  oppression  of  the  Philistines  in  the 
west  extended,  so  far  as  we  can  judge  from  the  narra- 
tive, over  the  period  of  Samson,  Samuel,  and  the  early 
years  of  Saul. 

These  three  lists  agree  very  closely,  and  they  give  us 
a  period  of  somewhere  over  120  years  as  representing 
the  interval  between  the  death  of  Joshua  and  the  acces- 
sion of  Saul.  If  we  take  the  largest  number,  128 
years,  and  allow  20  years  for  the  time  when  Joshua 
acted  as  their  leader  in  subduing  Canaan,  the  Book  of 
Judges  will  give  us  148  years  as  the  period  between 
the  entrance  into  Canaan  and  the  accession  of  SauL 
Thus  Egyptian  history,  the  priestly  genealogies,  and 
the  Book  of  Judges  all  agree  on  this  point,  the  first 
giving  145,  the  second  147,  and  the  third  148 
years. 

A  further  point  bearing  on  the  date  of  the  Exodus, 
which  arises  under  the  subject  of  the  Tell  el  Amaroa 
Letters,  may  be  mentioned  here.  There  we  find  that 
the  Amorites  were  steadily  pressing  south  from  Northern 
Syria,  but  in  the  eighteenth  dynasty  were  still  north  of 
Galilee.  Ptameses  II.  locates  them  at  Qedesh,  in  the 
region  of  Damascus,  and  Rameses  III.  finds  them  in 
possession  of  all  Southern  Palestine.  They  must,  there- 
fore, have  come  south  between  the  death  of  Rameses  II. 
and  the  invasion  of  Rameses  III.,  or  between  1234  B.C. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  103 


and  1187  B.C.  As  they  are  not  mentioned  by  Mer- 
enptah  on  the  Israelite  stele,  we  may  infer  that  they 
were  not  predominant  in  the  south  until,  perhaps,  the 
end  of  his  reign,  or  about  1214  B.C.,  and  probably  even 
later.  Since  Joshua  had  to  fight  five  confederate  kings 
of  the  Amorites  as  soon  as  he  arrived  in  the  south  of 
Canaan,  it  follows  that  his  entrance  into  Canaan  cannot 
have  taken  place  until  they  were  well  in  possession  of 
the  country  as  far  south  as  Hebron,  and  must,  therefore, 
have  occurred  at  a  date  close  to  the  period  of  the 
invasions  of  Syria  by  Rameses  III. 

The  chronology  of  the  period  from  the  Exodus 
onwards  may,  therefore,  be  tabulated  as  follows  : — 


Exodus,  c.  1215  b.c. 

Entry  into  Canaan,  1175  ,, 

Death  OF  Joshua,  1155  ,, 

First  Oppressions,    North.  East.      West  and  South. 

1154-1147;      1154-1136;  1154-1147 
(Cushanrishathaim) ;  (Eglon) ;  (Midian). 
Peace,  .     1147-1107;      1136-1056;  1147-1066 

(Othniel) ;  (Ehud  and  Jair)  ;  (Gideon — Abdon). 
(40  years)        (80  years).  (81  years). 

Second  Oppressions,  1107-1087;    1056-1038 ;     1066-1026  „ 
(Jabin) ;     (Philistines  (Philistines), 
and  Ammon)  ; 

Peace,       .      1087-1037  ;  1038-1032 

(Deborah  and  (Jephthah).  Samson. 

Elon) ;  Samuel. 

Saul. 

Samuel  IN  POWER   1046-1014  ,, 

Accession  of  Saul,   1030  ,, 

David  anointed,   1027  ,, 

David  REIGNS,   1017-977 

Solomon,  .  .  -  ,  ....  977-937  „ 
Rehoboam,   937-916  „ 


104    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


10.  Daphne — Tahpanhes  of  Jeremiah. — Among 
former  discoveries  of  some  years  back  one  is  the 
unearthing  of  the  border  fort  Daphna^,  and  its  identi- 
fication with  the  Tahpanhes  of  Jerem.  xliii.  by  Dr 
Flinders  Petrie  in  1886.  The  modern  name  of  the 
mound  Kasr  Bint  el  Yahudi,  "the  palace  of  the  Jew's 
daughter,"  is  in  itself  suggestive.  The  Greek  name 
was  Daphnse,  and  there  is  abundant  evidence  of  a  Greek 
occupation.  Herodotus  describes  it  as  the  "  camp  of  the 
lonians,"  founded  by  Psammetichos  I.,  and  under  its 
foundations  Petrie  found  the  tablets  with  the  name  of 
that  king,  showing  that  he  had  rebuilt  it  (664-610  B.C.). 
Deeper  ruins  showed  that  it  had  been  occupied  under 
the  Ramesside  kings.  It  had  been  a  border  fort,  and 
consisted  of  a  square  mass  of  brickw^ork  about  40  feet 
high,  with  deep-domed  cells  in  it,  which  opened  from 
above.  On  the  top  of  this  platform  stood  the  actual 
dwellings,  thus  commanding  a  wide  view  of  the  plain. 
The  cells  were  used,  no  doubt,  partly  for  storing 
purposes. 

There  is  no  question  that  this  is  the  Tahpanhes  of 
Jerem.  xliii.,  where  we  read  that  Johanan  collecting  all 
the  remnant  left  with  Gedaliah  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
along  with  their  women  and  children,  and  Jeremiah 
and  Baruch,  brought  them  down  to  Egypt,  even  to 
Tahpanhes. 

The  entrance  to  the  fort  was  in  the  side  of  a  block 
built  on  to  it,  and  in  front  of  the  entrance  across  the 
pathway,  Dr  Petrie  found  a  large  platform,  or  pavement, 
of  brickwork,  just  such  a  convenience  as  would  be 
intended  for  the  unloading  of  baggage,  or  would  be 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  casual  visitors  for  the  pitching 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  105 


of  tents.  He  identifies  this  with  the  brickwork  square, 
or  pavement  (RV.),  "  at  the  entry  of  Pharaoh's  house 
in  Tahpanhes "  (Jer.  xliii.  9),  in  which  Jeremiah  is 
commanded  to  hide  great  stones  while  he  prophesied 
the  coming  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  saying  that  he  would 
set  his  throne  on  them,  and  spread  his  pavilion  over 
them,  prior  to  his  conquering  Egypt. 


IV 


FORMER  DISCOVERIES 

THE  TOWN  AND  DISTRICT  OF  GOSHEN  IN  THE 
ISRAELITE  PERIOD 

1.  The  Name  Goshen. — About  eight  miles  to  the 
east  of  Zagazig  (ancient  Bubastis),  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Ismailiyeh  canal  are  the  ruins  of  a  city  of  consider- 
able dimensions,  on  part  of  which  stands  the  modern 
village  of  Saft  el  henneh.  This  has  been  proved  by 
Naville  to  be  the  site  of  the  ancient  town  of  Goshen. 
Here  Naville  found  the  fragments  of  a  colossal  black 
granite  statue  of  Rameses  II.,  the  Pharaoh  of  the 
oppression,  which  would  point  to  his  having  been 
perhaps  the  founder  of  the  fine  temple,  if  not  of  the 
town  itself.  By  far  the  most  interesting  discovery  he 
made,  however,  was  the  fragments  of  the  famous  shrine 
of  this  temple  dedicated  to  the  god  Sopt  by  Nekht-hor- 
heb  (Nectanebo  II.),  of  the  thirtieth  dynasty  (c.  350 
The  B.C.).  The  inscription  on  one  of  the  sides  of  this  black 
Q^^gjj_  granite  monolith  says  that  the  ''King  ordered  these 
QES  of  things  to  be  done  in  honour  of  the  Gods  of  Qes,  after 
tions"^  his  own  coming  to  Qes."  About  350  B.C.,  therefore, 
the  name  of  this  town  was  Qes.  On  the  back  other 
three  names  of  the  place  are  given,  viz.  "  The  house  of 
Sopt,"  "  Abode  of  the  sycomore,"  and  the  "  House  of 
the  sycomore "  ;  and  the  statement  occurs  :  "  the  land 

106 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  107 


of  Qes  is  green."  Four  miles  from  Saft  el  henneh  the 
modem  railway  station  is  named  "  Abou  el  Akhdar," 
"  the  place  of  the  green/'  which  shows  that  the  tradi- 
tional name  still  clings  to  the  district.  And  the  name 
is  still  most  appropriate. 

In  the  hieroglyphic  lists  of  nomes  on  the  walls  of 
the  temples  of  Edfu,  Denderah,  and  Philse  the  nome 
known  as  Arabia  in  Greek  times  is  named  .Sopt  Akhem, 
which    is    identical  with    the  Greek   'Ecrraxw/^-,  the 
name  for  Arabia  found  on  coins  of  Hadrian.    From  its 
juxtaposition  with  Asia  on  the  lists,  Sopt  Akhem  was 
evidently  identical  with    Arabia,  extending    to  the 
Sinaitic  peninsula.    Its  capital  is  named  Pa-Sopt  on  Pa-Sopt 
the  lists,  and  this  name  occurs  in  an  inscription  of  ^i^^ 
Assurbanipal  in  the  form  Pi-Saptu  ^  as  the  residence  Pi-Saptu 
of  a  prince  of  Lower  Egypt.    The  same  names  are  used  ^ggy^^^ 
for  the  god  Sopt  in  the  lists  as  on  the  shrine,  and  there 
the  sanctuary  itself  is  also  spoken  of  as  the  "  abode  of 
the  sycomore." 

It  is  certain,  therefore,  that  Qes,  and  Pa-Sopt,  the  Modern 
modern  Saft  el  henneh,  are  identical,  and  the  capital  ^^^S 
of  the  twentieth  nome  of  Lower  Egypt,  later  known 
as  Arabia.      This   identification  is  confirmed  by  the 
testimony  of  Greek  historians.      Ptolemy,   the  geo- 
grapher, says  that  between  the  Bubastite  nome  and 
the  Sethroite  (modern  Ben-ha)  is  the  nome  Arabia,  with 
its  capital  Pha-cusa.    In  the  geographer  of  Eavenna,  Pha-cusa, 
Pha-cusa  occurs  as  Pba-gusa.     This  name  Pha-cusa  is  gusa!*of 
simply  Pa-kusa,  kusa  being  the  Coptic  Kwg,  which  istheGeo- 
the  name  Qes  found  on  the  shrine.    Kug  was  the  Coptic  S^'aP^ers. 
name  of  the  capital  of  the  nome  Arabia,  and  is  seen  k«s. 

^  Pi  or  Pa  =  Hieroglyphic  for  "town." 


108    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


still  in  the  name  Qus,  frequently  used  for  a  modern 
village.  Now,  in  Upper  Egypt  Qus  is  pronounced  Gus, 
elsewhere  as  Kus,  and  the  Greeks  have  curiously  pre- 
served both  pronunciations  of  Qes,  in  the  forms  Tetfe/x, 
Tsffiv,  and  Kafn^av,  KsGffav^  showing  that  they  were 
confused  between  the  Qoph  and  the  Kaf  pronunciations. 

The  name  GosHEN,  therefore,  is  derived  straight  from 
Qes,  Cusa,  i.e.  Gosh,  is  identical  with  Qes,  and  its 
modern  form  Qus.  The  LXX.  calls  Goshen  Tsffg/O. 
ApaSia;,  implying  thus  that  at  the  period  when  the 
Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  was  made, 
Goshen  was  only  a  part  of  the  nome  Arabia. 

The  Qes  of  the  shrine,  the  Pa-Sopt  of  these  lists, 
the  Gesem  of  Greek  times,  and  the  Biblical  Goshen  are, 
therefore,  one  and  the  same  town.  From  other  evidences 
Naville  concludes  that  the  Biblical  district  of  Goshen 
was  a  triangle,  with  Saft  el  henneh,  Tell  el  kebir,  and 
Belbeys  as  its  three  corners,  and  the  ruins  at  Saft  el 
henneh  are  the  ruins  of  the  town  Goshen  itself. 

The  narrative  of  a  pilgrimage  made  by  a  lady  named 
Sylvia  in  the  fourth  century  A.D.  (found  at  Arezzo,  and 
translated  by  Gammurini)  further  confirms  Naville's 
identification  of  Goshen  as  being  the  nome  Arabia,  or 
at  least  part  of  it,  as  the  LXX.  suggests.  She  says 
it  was  her  desire  to  go  "  from  Clusma  (Suez)  to  the 
land  of  Goshen,  that  is  to  the  city  of  Arabia  ;  this  city 
is  in  the  land  of  Goshen  and  the  territory  itself  derives 
its  name  from  it  (i.e.  from  the  city)."  Goshen  and 
Arabia  were  thus  commonly  regarded  as  synonymous 
as  late  as  350  A.D. 

In  Gen.  xlvi.  6,  11  the  district  in  which  the 
Israelites  were  settled  is  spoken  of  first  as  being  "  in 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  109 


the  land  of  Goshen,"  and  then  as  being  "in  the 
land  of  Rameses,"  as  if  the  two  were  identical ;  and  The 
this  seems  to  have  been  the  case,  only  the  latter  ^^jjj 
covered  a  much  larger  area,  and  included  the  former. 
Naville  suggests  that  "  the  land  of  Rameses "  was  not 
an  administrative  name,  but  a  name  popularly  given  in 
honour  of  Rameses  II.,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression, 
to  this  whole  region,  which  he  had  enriched  with  so 
many  great  works  and  buildings,  or  because  it  was  one 
of  his  favourite  resorts.  The  LXX.  (Gen.  xlvi.,  28), 
therefore,  rightly  describes  Heroopolis  (Pithom)  as  being 
in  the  land  of  Rameses,  since  at  that  period  Gesem,  or 
Goshen,  did  not  include  Pithom,  though  probably  at  an 
earlier  date  Goshen  and  the  "  land  of  Rameses  "  were 
co-extensive. 

The  LXX.  says  Jacob  sent  Judah  before  him  to 
bring  Joseph  to  meet  him  at  Pithom,  in  the  land  of 
Rameses.  The  Hebrew  text  says,  "  to  direct  Joseph  to 
Goshen,"  and  Gen.  xlvi.  29  says  Joseph  went  up  to 
meet  his  father,  to  Goshen.  If  the  town  be  meant  in 
verse  29,  there  is  an  inconsistency  between  the  Hebrew, 
as  we  have  it,  and  the  LXX.  translation.  But  if  it 
mean  simply  the  district  of  Goshen,  then  there  need 
be  no  difi&culty  in  assuming  that  the  LXX.  is  right, 
and  that  Pithom  was  the  meeting-place.  In  the  latter 
case,  however,  we  must  then  assume  that  "  the  land  of 
Goshen  "  included  Pithom  and  Rameses  in  the  days  of 
Joseph,  though  in  the  LXX.  times  Goshen  had  ceased 
to  embrace  so  large  an  area. 

2.  Goshen  during  the  Israelite  Sojourn. — The 
period  of  the  Israelite  sojourn  is  generally  regarded  as 
the  years  between  1650  and  1214  B.C.,  the  latter  being 


110    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


the  supposed  date  of  the  Exodus.  Rameses  II.  and 
Merenptah  are  regarded  as  the  last  Pharaoh  of  the 
oppression  and  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus  respectively. 
If  the  usual  supposition  be  true,  that  Israel  came  down 
to  Egypt  towards  the  end  of  the  Hyksos  dynasty,  the 
period  of  their  sojourn  would  extend  over  the  whole  of 
the  eighteenth  dynasty  and  down  to  Merenptah  of  the 
nineteenth,  and  this  according  to  most  recent  calcula- 
tions amounts  to  between  440  and  430  years.  The 
period  of  the  oppression  would,  therefore,  date  from  the 
expulsion  of  the  Hyksos  by  the  earliest  king  of  the 
eighteenth  dynasty,  about  1587  B.C.  (Petrie),  "the  new 
king  which  knew  not  Joseph  "  (Ex.  i.  8)  being  Aahmes, 
the  jSrst  Pharaoh  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  (1587- 
1562  B.C.),  who  had  the  honour  of  not  only  throwing  off 
their  yoke  but  of  driving  them  out  of  Egypt  altogether 
in  the  first  five  years  of  his  reign.  Though  Rameses 
II.  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  if  he  were  the  only 
oppressor,  he  was  really  the  last  of  the  series  ;  but  he 
was  probably  their  severest  taskmaster,  as  in  his  time 
they  had  multiplied  so  considerably  as  to  be  a  source  of 
possible  danger  to  the  State,  a  fact  which  the  narrative 
of  the  Exodus  itself  suggests.  It  is  to  the  records  of 
this  period,  therefore,  that  we  must  turn  for  information 
about  Goshen  as  Israel  knew  it. 

The  second  king  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  Seti  I. 
(1326-1300  B.C.),  has  left  lists  of  the  various  districts 
into  which  Egypt  was  then  divided  for  administrative 
purposes,  but  not  one  is  mentioned  north  of  Heliopolis 
(On).  The  nome  later  known  as  Arabia  is  not  men- 
tioned, nor  even  the  Bubastite  nome,  though  Bubastis 
must  have  been  a  town  of  some  size  even  then.  During 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  111 


the  Israelite  sojourn,  therefore,  we  find  that  Goshen  is 
not  regarded  as  of  importance  from  the  commercial  or 
tax-paying  point  of  view.  It  has  not  yet  been  looked 
upon  as  a  valuable  asset  of  the  empire,  but  is  a  kind  of 
no-man's  land,  from  which  no  revenue  was  contributed 
to  the  imperial  exchequer.  Along  with  these  lists  of 
cultivated  and  organised  districts,  however,  he  gives  also 
lists  of  marsh-lands,  wastes,  and  canals,  and  among  these 
the  "  water  of  Ra  "  (the  Sun)  occurs  as  the  name  of  a  The 
marshy  tract  in  such  a  position,  that  Naville  identifies 
it  as  the  district  later  known  as  Goshen,  Arabia,  the 
land  of  Rameses.  The  oldest  name  of  Goshen  appears, 
therefore,  to  have  been  the  "  water  or  well  of  the  Sun/' 
and  it  seems  to  have  been  so  named  on  account  of  its 
marshy  nature.  The  great  Harris  papyrus  of  the 
twentieth  dynasty  (1202  B.C.  onwards)  confirms  this 
identification.  In  enumerating  the  gifts  of  Rameses 
III.  to  different  localities,  it  mentions  so  many  cattle  to 
his  mother,  Bast  (at  Bubastis),  so  many  servants  to  the 
temple  of  Bast,  the  Lady  of  Bailos  (Belbeys)  in  the 
"  water  of  Ra,"  and  so  many  cattle  to  his  father,  Horus 
of  Athribis  (modern,  Ben-ha),  thus  indicating  that  the 
"  water  of  Ra  "  lies  adjacent  to  the  districts  of  Bubastis 
and  Athribis,  which  would  exactly  suit  Goshen. 

This  old  name  is  also  preserved  to  us  by  Benjamin  of 
Tudela,  who  calls  Goshen  ''Ain  es  shemsh,  the  well  of 
the  sun,  or  the  water  of  Ra,"  and  this  name  used  to  be 
wrongly  identified  with  Heliopolis  (Ox),  the  "  city  of  the 
sun." 

From  the  little  we  know  it  thus  appears  that  Goshen 
was  quite  an  unimportant  district,  not  regularly  settled 
and  governed  like  the  districts  south  of  Heliopolis.  It 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


was  evidently  uncultivated,  being  mostly  marsh  and 
sand,  though  sufficiently  fertile  to  throw  up  a  crop  of 
grass,  that  proved  good  pasturage  for  sheep  and  cattle. 
It  is  likely  that  portions  of  it  consisted  of  sand  too  high 
above  water-level  to  be  productive  all  the  year  round, 
while  the  marshy  portions  were  too  full  of  salt  to  be  of 
any  value.  Large  parts  around  Saft  el  henneh  are  still 
unproductive  salt  marshes,  though  the  heightening  of 
the  water-level  by  artificial  means  has  now  brought 
under  cultivation  most  of  the  sandy  tracts. 

The  statement  made  by  Merenptah  about  "  Bailos 
(Belbeys)  in  the  water  of  Ea  "  in  an  inscription,  has  an 
important  bearing  on  this  point.  He  says  that  "  the 
country  around  was  not  cultivated,  but  left  as  pasture 
for  cattle  because  of  the  strangers.  It  was  abandoned 
since  the  time  of  the  ancestors." 

From  these  words  it  would  seem  that  the  district  was 
left  uncultivated  on  account  of  strangers  who  had  immi- 
grated, or  were  in  the  habit  of  coming  there  with  their 
flocks.  It  may  be  that,  like  the  Wady  Tumilat  and  the 
land  round  about  Pithom  and  Rameses,  this  region  was 
kept  open  to  Syrian  sheep-owners,  who  brought  down 
their  flocks  year  by  year  to  pasture  them.  In  the 
eighth  year  of  the  reign  of  Merenptah  himself  we  find  a 
frontier  ofiicial  describing  in  his  report  the  bringing  in 
of  a  tribe  of  Shasu  (Bedawin)  from  Aduma  (Etham), 
through  the  fortress  of  Thuku  (Succoth)  to  the  lakes  of 
Pa-tum  (Pithom)  in  the  land  of  Succoth,  to  feed  them- 
selves and  their  herds  (Petrie,  ''Hist.  Eg.,"  iii.  115)  ; 
and  other  such  official  communications  are  common  at 
that  date.  On  the  other  hand,  when  we  consider  that 
the  Israelites  had  in  Merenptah's  time  been  sojourning  in 


GOSHKN  TOWN 


-SAFT 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  113 


Egypt  for  over  four  hundred  years,  it  is  quite  possible 
that  in  his  inscription  regarding  Belbeys  the  word 
"  strangers "  may  refer  directly  to  the  Israelites  them- 
selves, and  the  clause  "  since  the  time  of  the  ancestors  " 
may  be  a  reference  to  the  long-standing  arrangement 
with  them,  although  it  may  just  as  well  be  an  indefinite 
statement  like  our  phrase  "  for  ages  past." 

Assuming  the  historicity  of  the  Old  Testament  narra- 
tive, for  we  have  as  yet  found  in  Goshen  no  confirmation 
of  the  presence  of  the  Israelites  there,  documentary  or 
otherwise,  we  are  perhaps  justified  in  saying  that 
Merenptah's  inscription  bears  out  the  Old  Testament 
statement,  that  the  land  round  about  the  town  of  Goshen 
was  handed  over  to  the  Israelites  for  their  flocks,  and 
remained  uncultivated  on  account  of  their  occupation. 
At  all  events  there  is  no  doubt  that  for  some  reason  or 
other  this  district  was  not  appropriated  or  cultivated  by 
the  Egyptians  at  this  period,  and  in  choosing  it  as  a 
suitable  settlement  for  his  brethren,  Joseph  was  really 
conferring  a  benefit  upon  the  country,  while  he  was 
robbing  no  man,  by  selecting  for  them  land  which  had 
never  been  apportioned. 

3.  The  Town  of  Goshen. — The  town  of  Goshen 
is  now  no  more  than  a  collection  of  black  mud  heaps, 
formed  of  the  mud  bricks  that  have  crumbled  down 
by  the  action  of  the  weather.  The  surface  is  strewn 
with  potsherds  of  the  period  of  the  Roman  occupatiou, 
and  the  walls  of  the  ancient  houses  can  easily  be  traced 
still.  The  town  must  have  covered  a  large  area  at  one 
time,  but  much  of  it  is  now  built  over  by  the  modern 
village  of  Saft,  while  a  considerable  portion  has  been 
put  under  cultivation.    Until  quite  recently  the  founda- 

H 


114    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


tion  walls  of  the  large  temple,  originally  built  by 
Rameses  II.  and  greatly  beautified  by  Nectanebo  (350 
B.C.),  in  the  building  of  which  the  Israelites  may,  there- 
fore, have  borne  their  part,  could  be  seen,  as  well  as 
several  of  the  huge  granite  blocks  of  the  building ;  but 
during  our  stay  there,  in  the  spring  of  1906,  a  fine  crop 
of  wheat  covered  the  site,  and  the  blocks  have  been 
removed  to  various  parts.  Some  of  them  lie  about  the 
ruins,  some  on  the  canal  bank,  some  in  the  bottom  of 
the  canal,  while  most  of  them  have  been  appropriated 
for  building  purposes. 

The  town  must  have  been  strongly  fortified  at  a  very 
early  date,  probably  during  the  period  succeeding  the 
expulsion  of  the  Hyksos,  or  shepherd  kings,  and  the 
foundation  of  the  east  wall  still  remains  to  a  breadth 
of  over  33  feet.  On  this  wall  we  encamped  for  several 
days,  and  we  did  not  fail  to  realise  the  likelihood  that 
the  Israelites  had  a  hand  in  the  making  of  the  bricks 
which  formed  so  solid  a  substratum  for  our  domicile. 
We  traced  the  walls  of  the  ancient  granaries  of  the 
town,  which  constitute  a  further  link  with  the  Hyksos 
wars,  and  are  another  instance  of  the  warlike  precautions 
then  adopted  in  case  of  famine  through  devastation  and 
siege. 

There  is  really  little  else  to  be  seen  of  the  ancient 
town. 

Succeeding  civilisations  have  obliterated  the  traces 
of  their  predecessors,  and  a  few  inscribed  blocks  of  stone 
lying  about  the  village  or  built  into  modern  houses  are 
all  that  now  remain  (see  Naville,  "  Goshen,"  Eg.  Explor. 
Soc). 

Very  soon  the  whole  site  will  be  under  cultivation. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  115 

Already,  by  artificially  forced  irrigation,  the  water-level 
is  raised  so  high  that  the  ruins  are  under  it,  so  that 
when  the  neighbouring  fields  are  being  irrigated  the 
ruins  are  also  practically  submerged. 

We  cannot  regard  Goshen  as  one  of  the  fortified 
grain-cities  built  by  the  Hyksos  in  preparation  for 
the  attacks  of  the  Southern  dynasty,  for,  then,  we  should 
expect  to  have  found  traces  of  their  occupation  in  the 
shape  of  pottery  and  burials,  etc.  ;  but  we  may  safely 
conclude  that  it  was  one  of  those  built  by  early 
eighteenth-dynasty  kings,  to  consolidate  their  conquest 
after  the  expulsion  of  the  Hyksos,  and  to  lessen  the 
risk  of  reprisals. 


V 


THE  CEMETERY  OF  GOSHEN  EXAMINED  IN  1905-1906 

POTTERY,  JEWELLERY,  AND  BURIAL  CUSTOMS 
OF  THE  ISRAELITE  PERIOD 

It  may  seem  strange,  but  rubbish  heaps  and  cemeteries 
are  the  two  sources  that  have  yielded  most  of  the 
important  information  which  we  have  gathered  con- 
cerning the  domestic  life  of  the  country  in  the  past. 
In  the  rubbish  heaps  outside  of  a  town  ruin  some  of 
the  finest  discoveries  of  papyrus  MSS.  have  been  made, 
as  for  instance,  by  Dr  B.  P.  Grenfell  at  Oxyrynchos; 
and  in  this  way  old  papyrus  rolls  that  had  been  thrown 
out  as  useless  have  been  preserved  to  us,  some  of  them 
containing  disjointed  sayings  of  Christ  hitherto  unknown. 
Similarly  in  the  ruins  of  Tanis  (Zoan),  it  was  in  a  recess 
under  the  cellar  stairs,  used  as  a  receptacle  for  rubbish, 
that  Dr  Flinders  Petrie  made  his  great  find  of  car- 
bonised papyrus,  much  of  which  has  been  with  the 
greatest  care  and  patience  unrolled  and  translated, 
yielding  valuable  results.  It  is  only  in  the  case  of  a 
volcanic  eruption,  as  at  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum,  that 
we  could  expect  to  have  a  town  buried  in  the  course 
of  a  few  hours,  all  life  suspended  in  a  moment,  and  the 
v^hole  handed  on  to  us  buried  as  it  stood.  A  con- 
flagration involving  many  dwellings  was  responsible  for 

116 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  117 


the  richest  finds  at  Tanis,  the  inhabitants  having  fled 
and  left  everything.  But  these  are  exceptional  cases. 
The  usual  case  is  that  a  town  has  gone  to  ruin  because 
it  has  been  abandoned  by  the  people,  or  plundered  by 
an  enemy  who  removed  everything  worth  taking.  If 
there  is  no  temple  site,  therefore,  a  town  ruin  is 
generally  comparatively  unproductive  of  results.  In 
a  cemetery,  however,  it  is  very  different.  Believing  as 
they  did,  that  every  soul  would  need  in  the  future 
world  exactly  what  it  was  accustomed  to  need  in  this, 
they  buried  every  body  with  as  good  an  equipment 
of  all  life's  necessaries  and  luxuries  as  they  could 
afford ;  and  so  from  every  cemetery  that  has  not  been 
rifled,  the  life  and  habits  of  the  people  can  in  a  measure 
be  reconstructed.  It  was  from  the  cemetery  near 
Nagada,  in  Upper  Egypt,  that  Dr  Petrie  was  able  to 
build  up  the  life  of  the  prehistoric  Egyptians,  and  to 
learn  something  of  their  origin  and  history.  The 
custom  of  embalming  the  dead  has  naturally  led  to 
the  preservation  of  much  valuable  historical  knowledge ; 
but  when  in  the  age  of  the  Ptolemies  they  took  to 
discarding  the  use  of  linen  wrappings  on  the  ground 
of  expense,  and  substituted  for  linen  old  papyrus 
manuscripts  of  Greek  and  other  authors,  one  sees  at 
once  how  important  the  burials  of  that  period  are. 
It  is  this  that  makes  Egypt  the  hope  of  the  future 
for  our  knowledge  of  the  early  Church,  for  at  any 
moment  there  may  be  unearthed  manuscripts  of  the 
Gospels,  or  of  early  treatises  on  the  teaching  of  Christ. 

Near  by  the  ruins  of  Goshen  is  a  strip  of  sandy 
gezireh  which  still  lies  so  high  above  water-level  as  to 
make  it  useless  for  cultivation.    This  had  been  used  as 


118    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


the  cemetery  of  the  town  from  the  eighteenth  dynasty 
down  to  Roman  times.  Knowing  the  comparative 
value  of  a  cemetery  as  against  a  town  site,  we  were 
not  slow  to  transfer  our  operations  there  at  once,  on 
finding  that  the  ruins  had  passed  into  private  hands  ; 
and  the  result  justified  our  brightest  expectations.  The 
place  was  literally  packed  full  of  burials  of  various 
periods.  Almost  the  first  basketful  of  earth  removed 
from  the  eastern  edge  revealed  ornaments,  pottery,  and 
scarabs  of  the  early  eighteenth-dynasty  period  ;  and  for 
a  time  the  outlook  was  bright  indeed,  for  the  gezireh 
covered  an  area  of  half  a  mile  square,  and  half  a  square 
mile  of  eighteenth-dynasty  cemetery,  in  the  land  of 
Goshen  too,  is  a  prize  that  any  excavator  might  envy. 
Unfortunately  two  weeks  steady  work  of  fifty  men 
exhausted  the  oldest  portion,  and  we  found  ourselves 
plunged,  almost  without  warning,  into  the  atmosphere 
of  the  twenty-second  and  twenty-sixth  dynasties,  and  of 
Roman  times,  some  of  it  coming  down  to  the  fourth 
century  A.D.,  and  thus  showing  that  the  Romans  had 
occupied  Goshen  and  Rheyta  contemporaneously. 
Twenty  years  ago  this  gezireh  would  have  yielded  far 
richer  treasure,  for  the  henneh  fields  have  been  slowly 
encroaching  upon  the  oldest  part  for  years,  and  we 
were  in  time  to  save  only  a  small  remnant.  It  was 
aggravating,  indeed,  to  feel  that  under  these  bushes  lay 
buried  a  perfect  mine  of  eighteenth-dynasty  materials, 
and  yet  to  be  unable  to  touch  them.  Of  the  part 
examined,  the  surface  had  sometimes  been  so  denuded 
by  Sebakhin  that  the  articles  were  not  more  than 
three  or  four  inches  down,  and  on  several  occasions  we 
found  that  the  bottom  rings  of  upturned  pottery  had 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  119 


actually  for  some  time  formed  part  of  the  surface  of  the 
pathway,  over  which  the  traffic  between  the  neighbour- 
ing villages  passed  from  day  to  day.  Whether  it  was 
from  fear  of  desecration,  which  is  not  likely,  or  from 
lack  of  enterprise  and  observation,  the  natives  passed 
these  evidences  of  spoil  day  after  day  for  years,  and  to 
this  we  owe  the  preservation  of  the  cemetery  intact. 
JSTot  a  grave  had  been  opened.  It  was  very  different 
in  the  other  portion  of  this  cemetery  at  Suwa,  for  there 
the  natives  had  for  long  made  a  regular  trade  of  looting, 
and  selling  their  finds.  We  cleared  the  greater  part  of 
the  gezireh,  and  found  as  we  progressed  toward  the 
centre  that  the  burials  became  later  in  character,  while 
the  western  edge  had  been  used  in  Ptolemaic  times. 
During  our  work  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  I  kept 
my  eyes  open  for  the  slightest  trace  of  burials  which 
might  be  described  as  non-Egyptian,  and  which  might 
have  given  a  clue  to  the  Israelite  cemetery,  but  with 
no  success.  The  Israelites  must  have  buried  their  dead 
somewhere  in  this  neighbourhood,  but  being  slaves 
they  had  doubtless  buried  in  a  place  apart,  and  their 
cemetery  may  have  long  been  under  cultivation.  In 
all  probability,  also,  their  burials  would  have  been 
devoid  of  the  articles  found  in  Egyptian  graves,  for 
there  is  no  evidence  that  they  ever  shared  the  Egyptian 
idea  about  the  future  life  ;  so  that  had  we  found  them 
there  would  have  been  nothing  to  indicate  to  whom 
they  had  belonged.  A  large  number  of  interments 
were  found  where  nothing  had  been  buried  with  the 
dead,  but  mixed  as  they  were  with  Egyptian  burials 
it  would  be  impossible  to  infer  that  these  were 
Israelite. 


120    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Since  the  Bible  states  that  Joseph  was  buried  in 
Egypt,  and  his  bones  removed  to  Canaan  at  the  Exodus, 
somewhere  in  this  neighbourhood  there  ought  to  be 
found  an  empty  sarcophagus,  or  mummy  coffin,  in- 
scribed with  the  names,  titles,  and  honours  of  Joseph. 
No  such  tomb  has  yet  been  discovered,  but  it  is  much 
more  likely  to  be  found  in  the  cemetery  of  Heliopolis 
(On),  where  Joseph  is  understood  to  have  resided,  than 
in  the  district  of  Goshen. 

The  Contents. — The  contents  of  this  cemetery  are 
the  only  direct  sources  available  to  us  for  information 
regarding  the  Egyptian  people  with  whom  the  Israelites 
came  into  daily  contact.  The  part  of  it  belonging 
the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties  is  what 
chiefly  conceros  us,  and  we  shall  speak  of  this  period 
throughout  as  the  Israelite  period. 
Types  of  Of  the  various  types  of  burial  employed,  the  most 
Bnrial.  common  was  the  ordinary  sand-pit,  where  the  body 
had  been  laid  earth  to  earth  with  no  protection  but 
wrapping.  Every  limb  had  been  separately  wrapped, 
and  with  several  folds  of  the  cloth,  which  crumbled 
away  to  a  fine  mauve  dust  at  the  least  touch. 

Occasionally  a  narrow  trough  was  built  in  the  bottom 
of  the  pit,  and  after  the  insertion  of  the  body  bricks 
had  been  laid  across  it,  so  that  the  body  did  not  come 
into  contact  with  the  filling.  This  is  still  the  form  of 
burial  used  by  the  inhabitants  of  modern  Goshen  who 
cannot  aflford  a  mastaba.  These  two  types  embrace 
practically  all  the  burials  found  of  the  Israelite  period, 
and  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  prosperity  of  the  people  in 
these  days.  There  had  been  very  few  really  well-to-do 
people  in  the  town.     These,  however,  had  used  the 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  121 


more  expensive  slipper-shaped  pottery  coffin,  of  which 
several  fine  specimens  were  found,  as  well  as  a  few  of  a 
rougher  type.  They  usually  bore  a  modelling  of  the 
face  and  hands  of  the  occupant  on  the  lid,  the  finer  ones 
being  beautifully  painted.  The  body  had  been  inserted, 
the  coffin  then  filled  with  sand,  and  afterwards  deposited 
in  the  sand-pit.  Sometimes  as  a  cheaper  imitation  of 
these,  two  large  clay  pots  about  three  and  a  half  feet  in 
length,  twenty  inches  in  diameter  at  the  mouth,  and 
narrowing  towards  the  bottom,  were  placed  mouth  to 
mouth  with  the  body  enclosed,  and  occasionally  only 
one  such  pot  was  used  to  cover  the  upper  part  of  the 
body.  In  the  case  of  infants  the  bottom  of  a  large 
water  or  oil  jar  was  knocked  off,  the  infant  inserted, 
with  the  head  to  the  mouth  invariably,  the  jar  filled 
with  sand,  and  the  ends  closed  with  potsherds.  Two 
limestone  coffins  were  found,  which  bore  no  inscrip- 
tion, and  traces  of  a  floor  of  wood  in  late  burials 
suggested  that  wooden  coffins  had  been  used.  These 
were  quite  common  in  the  Suwa  cemetery,  and 
belonged  to  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty,  or  Ptolemaic 
times. 

The  body  was  placed  on  its  back  with  the  feet  to  the  The 
east,  and  the  hands  by  the  sides  or  crossed  on  the  ^2rt*t§^^ 
breast.    Every  body  had  been  wrapped  in  cloth,  and  Objects, 
where  we  found  it  at  all  preserved  it  was  clear  that  it 
had  been  enclosed  in  several  folds,  not  merely  dressed 
in  a  single  garment.     The  practice  of  robing  the  dead 
in  a  single  garment  did  not  come  in  till  Christian 
times.    In  graves  of  men  little  was  found,  except  where 
he  happened  to  have  belonged  to  a  particular  profession, 
when  the  implements  of  his  profession  were  buried  with 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


him.  In  one,  which  had  belonged  to  a  scribe  or 
physician,  were  found  a  fine  bronze  writing-case  and 
some  excellent  specimens  of  Roman  glass  bottles. 
Women,  on  the  contrary,  were  evidently  buried  in  full 
dress,  wearing  all  their  ornaments  and  jewellery,  the 
whole  being  encased  in  the  wrapping.  Around  the 
sides  of  the  grave  were  arranged  the  various  articles  of 
household  furniture  and  ornament,  while  for  her  more 
valuable  treasures  a  space  was  reserved  at  the  head. 
Children  were  also  buried  wearing  all  their  ornaments 
and  amulets,  as  in  life,  and  with  their  toys  beside 
them. 

Infant  A  particularly  striking  feature  was  the  large  number 
Burials,  infant  burials.  This  was  quite  noticeable  in  every 
part,  and  in  one  portion  for  several  days  nothing  else 
was  unearthed  by  the  eight  men  at  work  there. 
Several  hundreds  must  have  been  found  there  alone, 
and  often  five  or  six  were  packed  into  the  same  pit. 
They  were  mostly  enclosed  in  peg-bottomed  pots,  like 
those  of  the  third  century  A.D.  which  were  found  at 
Rheyta,  though  many  had  been  simply  laid  in  the  sand, 
as  if  hurriedly  interred.  But  for  the  late  date  of  these 
pots,  there  might  have  been  here  a  valuable  testimony 
to  the  truth  of  the  tenth  plague.  As  it  is,  the  discovery 
of  so  many  contemporaneous  interments  of  children 
suggests  the  commonness  of  the  occurrence  of  some 
epidemic  among  infants.  The  proportion  of  infantile 
burials  is  much  smaller  in  the  earlier  than  in  the  later 
parts  of  the  cemetery,  so  that  we  may  infer  that  infantile 
mortality  was  not  so  high  in  the  earlier  as  in  the  later 
periods,  and  this  is  a  safe  proof  of  the  continual  de- 
generation of  the  people.    At  the  present  day  the  infant 


p.  12-2 


USHABTIS— ISRAELITE  PERIOD 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  123 


mortality  is  abnormally  high,  while  in  civilisation  the 
people  are  at  their  lowest  ebb. 

The  objects  found  fall  conveniently  into  the  three  The 
classes — domestic,  general,  and  personal.  Class? 

(1)  The  first  embraces  all  the  pottery  found.    The  fied. 
larger  pots,  many  of  a  later  date  being  inscribed  in  Pottery. 
Greek  and  demotic,  had  served  as  water  or  wine  jars. 

Of  the  smaller  types  some  had  been  used  as  cooking- 
pots,  as  the  blackened  bottoms  showed.  But  the  finest 
eighteenth-dynasty  pots,  with  pointed  bottoms,  showed 
no  indication  of  their  use.  The  cake  of  mud  occasion- 
ally found  inside  them  pointed  to  their  having  contained 
some  liquid  when  buried,  which  was  borne  out  by  the 
cake  of  mud  on  the  mouth  by  which  they  had  been 
sealed.  Basins  and  saucers  were  plentiful,  particularly 
the  small  flat-bottomed  saucer  used  so  much  to  cover 
the  mouth  of  wine-jars  by  housewives  before  sealing 
them  with  mud.  The  large  pots  were  all  used  for  burial 
of  infants. 

The  largest  of  all,  which  stands  over  three  feet  high, 
and  was  in  its  transit  to  Suez  a  subject  of  much 
wonder  to  the  natives,  had  been  found  many  years 
before  by  some  natives,  and  had  been  an  heirloom  in 
that  family  for  several  generations.  Both  ears  are  in- 
scribed in  what  is  supposed  to  be  archaic  Arabic,  which 
sufi&ciently  decides  its  date. 

(2)  Under  the  class  of  general  we  include  the  scarabs  Scarabs, 
found  in  considerable  numbers.    One  is  a  gold-encased 
scarab  of  Thothmes  III.  (XVIIIth   Dyn.),  one  bears 

the  name  of  Queen  Thyi  (XlXth),  and  another  re- 
presents Rameses  II.  (XlXth),  being  carried  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  priests  in  the  Sed  festival.  Originally 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


scarabs  were  used  for  various  purposes,  and  were 
variously  inscribed.  Their  chief  use,  however,  was  to 
affix  a  signature  to  a  document  or  to  mark  a  man's 
possessions,  having  the  owners'  names  incised,  and  the 
impress  of  a  scarab  had  the  same  legal  significance  as 
a  signature  in  handwriting  would  have  among  us. 
Women  also  had  their  own  scarabs,  which  they  used 
for  the  same  purposes,  or  for  stamping  the  seals  of 
wine  and  oil  jars,  etc.,  when  they  stored  them.  At  a 
later  period  scarabs  were  more  frequently  worn  by 
women  as  ornaments  in  necklaces  or  bracelets,  and 
thus  we  frequently  find  the  scarabs  of  an  early  date 
in  a  comparatively  late  interment. 
Ushabti.       In  one  grave  eight  inscribed  ushabtis  were  found. 

The  ushabti  is  a  relic  of  the  ancient  custom  of  killing 
a  wealthy  man's  servants  and  burying  them  with  him, 
that  they  might  serve  him  in  the  next  world.  When 
the  Egyptians  gave  up  the  practice  they  substituted 
glazed  pottery  models  of  them  instead,  just  as  they 
substituted  clay  models  for  real  food  on  the  tables  of 
offerings.  The  absence  of  ushabtis  was  quite  marked, 
and  is  another  indication  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Goshen  had  never  been  a  wealthy  class. 

The  poorest  class  of  tables  of  offerings,  made  of  clay 
and  like  upturned  glasses  in  shape,  were  very  common 
here,  but  no  trace  of  clay  models  of  food  was  visible. 
Tables  of  a  much  more  costly  type  were  found  at 
Suwa. 

Terra-         Among  household  ornaments  the  terra-cotta  figures 
Figures.         niostly  of  Roman  date,  but  one  is  of  clay  and 
deserves  special  notice.    It  is  the  figure  of  a  woman 
kneeling  and  playing  a  mandoline.      The  headgear 


CORNELIAN  NECKLACES— ISRAELITE  PERIOD 


SCARABS — GOSHEN  CEMETERY 

p.  124 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  125 


looks  like  a  large  thick  plait  of  hair  tucked  in  so  as 
to  form  two  projecting  rings  behind.  The  figure  has 
been  dated  as  early  as  1000  B.C.,  and  is  by  far  the 
earliest  specimen  of  this  stringed  instrument  known. 
The  shortness  of  the  neck  of  the  mandoline  is  notice- 
able, and  shows  that  the  stamping  had  to  be  very  close, 
as,  also,  that  the  range  of  the  instrument  was  very 
limited. 

The  small  one-eared  ornamental  vases,  with  white  Cypriote 
stripes,  belong  to  the  Israelite  period,  and  are  really 
imported  from  Cyprus,  being  variants  of  the  Cypriote 
leather  bottle  type.  A  considerable  export  and  import 
trade  seems  to  have  been  carried  on  at  this  early  date 
between  Cyprus  and  the  north  of  Egypt,  just  as  we  find 
that  long  trains  of  laden  donkeys  were  continually 
passing  between  Syria  and  Egypt,  bringing  in  their 
own  merchandise  and  carrying  away  corn. 

(3)  Ornamental. — The  large  variety  of  beads  found  Beads, 
were  of  the  greatest  service  in  dating.  Dr  Petrie  has 
made  such  a  complete  classification  of  beads,  according 
to  their  dates,  that  they  now  form  an  unmistakable 
basis  of  inference.  Frequently  beads  of  an  early  date 
unearthed  have  been  re-used,  but  in  such  a  case  the 
other  materials  found  beside  them  form  a  sufficient 
safeguard  against  a  wrong  inference.  A  great  quantity 
of  beads  of  the  Israelite  period  were  found  here,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  fine  small  carnelian  and  jasper,  and 
of  glazed  pottery  in  blue  and  other  colours.  Of  these 
latter,  the  finest  were  so  small  as  to  be  almost  indis- 
tinguishable from  grains  of  sand.  Ivory  bars,  with  five 
or  eight  holes,  found  with  them  showed  that  the  carnelian 
and  jasper  beads  had  been  worn  in  necklaces  of  five  and 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


eight  strings.  Similar  bars  of  blue  glazed  pottery  were 
picked  up  with  the  tiny  glazed  beads. 

Beads  of  the  Roman  period  were  chiefly  of  glass, 
amber,  rough  carnelian,  and  paste,  and  some  of  them 
very  beautiful. 

Rings.  A  feature  of  the  jewellery  of  the  Israelite  period  is 
the  number  of  uncompleted  rings.  They  have  been 
supposed  to  be  hair-rings,  the  narrow  slit  having  been 
left  open  for  the  insertion  of  a  curl.  It  is  far  more 
likely  that  they  were  rings  worn  on  the  upper  lobe  of 
the  ear,  the  lobe  being  forced  into  the  narrow  opening. 
The  finest  of  these  were  made  of  silver  covered  with 
gold  leaf.  Others  were  of  carnelian,  jasper,  granite, 
limestone,  and  blue  glaze.  From  their  surroundings, 
they  obviously  formed  part  of  an  Egyptian  lady's  outfit 
in  the  days  of  Israel's  sojourn. 

Ear-rings  of  gold,  silver,  and  bronze  of  the  same 
date,  as  well  as  of  later,  were  common.  Finger  rings 
of  silver,  bronze,  carnelian,  and  glaze,  some  with  scarab 
settings,  were  equally  common  and  of  the  same  period. 
The  hair  pins  of  the  earliest  date  were  usually  of  ivory, 
but  bronze  was  of  frequent  occurrence,  sometimes  as 
Bracelets,  many  as  thirty  being  picked  up  in  one  spot.  Bracelets 
N«:klets,  ^^j.^  evidently  composed  of  amulets,  large  beads,  or 
Anklets,  scarabs,  though  probably  many  of  the  bronze  ones 
belonged  to  the  Israelite  period.  From  other  sources 
we  possess  magnificent  bracelets  of  gold,  and  abundance 
of  bronze  ones  of  the  eighteenth  to  nineteenth  dynasties, 
but  the  people  of  Goshen  in  these  days  were  apparently 
not  wealthy  enough  to  wear  them.  Bronze  bracelets 
and  necklets  of  bronze  and  ivory  belonging  to  a  later 
date  were  picked  up  in  great  variety.    Bronze  and  iron 


p.  126 


BLUE  GLAZE  BRACELETS — ISRAELITE  PERIOD 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  127 


anklets  were  also  numerous,  and  one  glass  bracelet  of 
Roman  date  has  been  particularly  admired.  A  bracelet 
of  early  date  (twenty-sixth  dynasty  ?)  consisted  of  six 
beautiful  blue  glaze  figures  of  deities,  each  about  one 
inch  long,  with  six  crocodiles,  a  Uraeus,  and  a  Horus 
eye  to  alternate  with  them.  Bronze  mirrors,  one  with  Mirrors 
ivory  handle  complete,  and  two-fluted  and  three-fluted  pofs!^°^ 
fine  glaze  kohl-pots  for  the  mixing  of  eye  paint  were  no 
less  in  evidence  in  the  toilette  equipment  of  women  of 
the  Israelite  period. 

The  finest  necklace  found  consisted  of  twelve  Neck- 
carnelian  face-pendants  of  a  peculiar  type  and  of  pro- 
portionate  sizes.  Others  are  composed  of  plain  carnelian 
pendants,  of  various  designs,  the  lotus  flower  being  a 
favourite  ;  and  these  were  common  also  in  jasper.  Next 
to  these  comes  the  blue  glaze  pendant  necklace  of  the 
same  age  and  designs.  In  these  the  figures  of  Bes 
and  Bast  played  a  prominent  part,  the  former  especially 
in  children's  pendants,  since  he  was  the  protective  deity 
of  infants.  Bast  was  the  chief  goddess  worshipped  in 
the  district,  representing  Diana  or  Artemis,  and  Bubastis, 
near  by,  was  the  seat  of  her  worship.  She  was  specially 
invoked  by  mothers.  Glaze  face-pendants  of  coarse 
make  and  of  much  later  date,  mostly  representing  Bes, 
were  abundant. 

The  double-face  pendants  are  a  class  by  themselves.  Pen- 
Usually  the  features  were  outlined  in  black  and  yellow. 
They  were  found  only  in  children's  graves,  and  unless 
they  are  crude  representations  of  Bes,  we  have  no  clue 
to  the  superstition  connected  with  them.  They  look 
hideous  enough  to  be  the  impersonation  of  evil,  and 
perhaps  they  were  worn  to  avert  the  evil  eye. 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Bronze  cats  and  figures  of  the  God-mother  with  child 
on  her  knee  (Isis  and  Horns)  had  been  favourite  charms 
for  children  to  wear.  The  bronze  bells  so  common  in 
children's  graves  had  been  toys,  and  apparently  worn  on 
a  string  round  the  neck. 
Ear-  A  curious  custom  of  the  Israelite  period  was  the 
pluffs.  ijabit  of  stopping  the  ears  of  the  dead,  perhaps  as  a  pre- 
caution against  sand  or  insects.  Ear-plugs  of  ivory, 
limestone,  and  wood  were  of  frequent  occurrence,  but 
others  were  more  elaborately  composed  of  some  other 
brittle  material  with  a  thin  covering  of  ivory  pasted  on 
the  top,  the  paste  used  having  been  the  white  of  an  egg. 

Eemarks.  —  On  a  careful  examination  of  these 
materials,  it  will  be  at  once  seen  that  those  belonging  to 
the  Israelite  period  and  the  Roman  far  outnumber  the 
relics  of  the  intervening  dynasties.  A  very  few  things 
of  the  twenty-second  and  twenty-sixth  dynasties,  and 
these  not  decisive,  were  found,  while  not  a  single  burial 
can  be  assigned  to  the  thirtieth,  though  we  know  that 
at  that  period  Nekhthor-heb  did  so  much  to  adorn  the 
town.  In  the  cemetery  at  Suwa  we  found  the  reverse. 
There  these  intervening  dynasties  are  almost  solely 
represented,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  two  are  the 
cemeteries  of  the  same  town. 

One  or  two  important  facts  are,  therefore,  established 
by  these  discoveries.  The  first  and  most  important  is 
that  Goshen  was  a  town  of  considerable  size  at  the 
period  of  the  Israelite  sojourn.  The  fact  that  Rameses 
II.  (1300-1234  B.C.)  erected  a  statue  of  himself  there, 
shows  that  he  must  have  undertaken  some  work  for  the 
beautifying  or  improvement  of  the  town.  At  least,  it 
proves  that  the  town  was  then  in  existence,  though  it 


GOLD  EAR-HIXGS— ISRAELITE  TEHIOD 


GOLD  EAR-RINGS  AND  SILVER-GILT  HAIR  (OR  EAR)  RINGS 
—ISRAELITE  PERIOD 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  129 


may  have  been  another  of  the  granary  cities  which  he 
compelled  the  Israelites  to  build  for  him.  So  much  was 
previously  known  ;  but  now  that  we  have  found  indis- 
putable remains  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  there  is  no 
longer  any  doubt  that  the  town  dates  as  far  back  as  the 
early  kings  of  that  dynasty  at  least,  for  we  unearthed 
materials  of  the  reign  of  Thothmes  III.  (1503-1449 
B.C.),  and  the  town  existed  probably  before  then.  There 
is  nothing  impossible,  therefore,  in  assuming  that  Gen. 
xlvi.  29  refers  to  the  town,  and  not  to  the  district,  of 
Goshen  as  the  meeting-place  of  Jacob  and  Joseph. 

The  second  fact  is,  that  Goshen  was  continuously 
inhabited  practically  from  the  eighteenth  dynasty  down 
to  Roman  times,  and  during  the  twenty-sixth  and 
thirtieth  dynasties  and  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies,  it  was 
a  much  wealthier  and  more  important  place  than  dur- 
ing the  Israelite  period,  as  we  find  from  the  cemetery  at 
Suwa.  The  thirtieth  dynasty  was,  perhaps,  the  period 
of  its  greatest  prosperity,  but  again  in  Roman  times  it 
had  attained  considerable  prominence  as  one  of  their 
strongest  garrison-forts  in  the  Delta. 

A  further  infereuce  has  already  been  pointed  out,  viz. 
that  the  people  of  Goshen  in  the  Israelite  period  were 
by  no  means  a  wealthy  or  powerful  class,  for  there  is 
very  little  that  betokens  luxury  in  their  methods  of 
burial,  or  in  the  things  which  they  buried  with  their 
dead,  so  that  the  place  was  evidently  in  its  infancy  at 
that  time.  In  the  other  portions  of  the  cemetery  at 
Suwa  and  Ali-marah  there  were  indications  of  undoubted 
wealth  and  prosperity. 


I 


VI 


CEMETERY  OF  GOSHEN  AT  SUWA  AND  ALI  MAKAH 

About  a  mile  south  of  Saft  is  another  large  stretch  of 
unreclaimed  gebel,  on  the  edge  of  which  stand  several 
villages,  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  being  the  village 
of  Suwa.  It  is  built  close  to  what  had  been  a  much- 
used  cemetery  in  the  later  dynasties  and  Ptolemaic 
times.  No  material  of  the  Israelite  period  was  found 
here.  Only  those  dynasties  are  represented  which  were 
unrepresented  at  Saft,  so  that  we  may  describe  this  as 
complementary  of  the  former  cemetery.  Two  miles  to 
the  east  of  Suwa,  near  the  small  village  Ali  Marah,  the 
men  found  remains  of  an  eighteenth- dynasty  cemetery, 
and  for  some  distance  into  the  gebel  traces  of  burials 
were  found  No  trace  of  the  ruins  of  a  twenty-sixth 
dynasty  or  a  Ptolemaic  town,  or,  in  fact,  of  any  ancient 
town  at  all,  was  visible  in  the  neighbourhood,  except 
the  ruins  of  Goshen  at  Saft ;  and  we  are  thus  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  they  were  all  the  cemetery  of  the  same 
town.  Their  distance  of  two  or  three  miles  from  Saft 
presents  no  difficulty.  The  only  point  of  difficulty  is 
why,  with  a  cemetery  so  near,  they  should  have  pre- 
ferred to  bury  at  such  distance  ;  and  in  the  case  of 
the  twenty-sixth  and  Ptolemaic  dynasties  this  is,  perhaps, 
to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  hard  gebel  at  Suwa 
was  the  ouly  ground  in  the  vicinity  suitable  for  the  class 

130 


CHILD  POT-BURIAL  IN  POSITION 


p.  131 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  131 


of  shaft-pit  tomb  fashionable  at  the  time.  It  is  not 
likely  that  the  gezireh  at  Saft  had  been  completely 
filled,  as  we  should  then  have  found  the  burials  of  the 
Roman  period  above  burials  of  the  earlier  periods.  It  is 
cheaper  to  cut  four-chambered  or  deep  shaft-pit  tombs 
in  the  hard  black  earth  occasionally  found  in  this  region, 
than  to  excavate  them  in  sand,  and  build  a  brick  wall 
casing  to  prevent  the  sand  falling  in.  In  the  Fayum 
the  shaft  was  frequently  cut  in  soft  sand  and  built  up 
with  brick,  while  the  chambers  were  cut  in  the  lime- 
stone, which  lies  at  a  depth  of  ten  to  fifteen  feet.  At 
Suwa,  however,  the  hard  earth  answered  the  purpose 
admirably. 

Types  of  Graves. — A  few  ordinary  sand-pits,  that 
had  belonged  to  poorer  people,  were  found  on  a  strip 
of  sand  at  the  same  level  as  the  cultivated  fields;  but 
the  majority  of  the  graves  here  belong  to  one  or  other 
of  two  types.  A  room  seven  or  eight  feet  square  was  Masta- 
cut  to  a  depth  of  about  five  feet  in  the  gebel,  and  then 
covered  over  with  a  flat  or,  more  likely,  a  dome-shaped 
roof,  which  stood  a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
ground  around.  Usually  the  same  roof  covered  a  series 
of  four  or  two  rooms,  opening  into  each  other,  and 
with  a  door  for  entrance  at  one  side,  like  the  modern 
mastaba,  leading  in  from  a  shaft  sunk  to  the  floor  level, 
the  door  being  built  up  with  bricks  after  an  interment. 
Frequently  the  walls  had  been  covered  with  a  thin  white 
or  pink  plaster.  The  roofs  had,  of  course,  long  succumbed, 
and  most  of  the  graves  had  been  partially  rifled. 

The  most  interesting  type  was  the  deep  shaft-pit  and  Shaft-pit 
chamber  tomb.    There  was  a  large  number  of  these, 
but  they  proved  so  unproductive  that  we  latterly  ceased 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


to  excavate  them.  The  shaft,  about  three  feet  square, 
usually  went  down  to  a  depth  of  twelve  to  twenty  feet,  and, 
as  a  rule,  a  chamber  was  cut  on  one  side,  sometimes 
one  on  each  side.  The  chambers  were  about  eight  feet 
square  and  five  feet  high.  These  all  contained  mummies 
of  the  Ptolemaic  period.  The  mummies  lay  side  by  side, 
uncovered,  the  entrance  to  the  chamber  having  been 
built,  and  the  shaft  filled  in,  after  the  interment.  Some 
of  these  were  very  beautiful,  and  all  of  them  valuable, 
if  it  had  only  been  possible  to  bring  them  up  the  shaft 
unbroken ;  but  whether  owing  to  the  rough  handling 
of  the  men,  or  to  the  delicate  nature  of  the  material, 
not  one  was  found  by  us  with  the  finely  gilded  and 
painted  plaster  complete,  and  whenever  we  tried  to 
remove  a  head  or  a  breast  piece  it  fell  to  pieces  in 
our  hands. 

Mummies  There  is  always  a  charming  fascination  in  descending 
these  tombs  and  finding  the  mummies  in  their  ex- 
quisitely adorned  habiliments,  as  they  were  placed 
there  some  2000  or  3000  years  ago;  but  in  the 
Ptolemaic  period  this  is  further  enhanced  by  their 
habit  of  using  old  papyrus  manuscripts  for  the  under- 
wrapping  of  the  mummy  below  the  surface  plaster, 
instead  of  the  expensive  linen  of  earlier  times. 

In  1895  I  spent  some  weeks  with  Dr  Grenfell  in 
the  Fayum,  among  similar  tombs,  and  had  the  ex- 
perience of  handling  some  of  these  papyrus-clad 
mummies,  the  value  of  which  had  already  been  dis- 
covered by  the  native  poachers,  and  several  interesting 
frasfments  of  known  Greek  aiithors  were  found  in  the 
breast  pieces  which  I  took  off  the  mummies  that  had 
not  previously   been  stripped.     It  was  a  somewhat 


DRIN KING-CUP— ISHAELITK  PERIOD 


GREEK  VASE 

p.  133 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  133 


gruesome  experience,  and  the  presence  of  a  live  owl 
in  the  rock-cut  chamber,  while  it  showed  that  our 
man  had  only  taken  me  to  gather  up  the  fragments 
left  by  himself  in  previous  visits  for  his  own  profit, 
yet  also  added  considerably  to  the  eeriness  of  this  first 
experience.  The  mummy  tombs  at  Suwa  were,  therefore, 
of  intense  interest ;  but  it  was  a  great  disappointment 
to  find  that  here  the  experience  of  all  excavators  was 
once  more  verified,  viz.  that  as  yet  no  papyrus-wrapped 
mummies  have  been  found  north  of  Cairo.  Whether 
it  was  that  the  people  of  the  Delta  were  not  of  a  literary 
turn  of  mind,  or  that  they  had  too  great  a  reverence  for 
books  to  apply  them  to  such  a  purpose,  it  is  impossible 
to  tell,  but  this  practice  seems  to  have  been  observed 
only  in  Upper  Egypt. 

Some  of  these  tombs  contained  only  two  mummies 
side  by  side.  Others  contained  as  many  as  fifteen 
or  eighteen  piled  above  each  other  in  one  room,  and 
all  were  laid  simply  on  the  bare  soil  with  no  coffin 
or  other  protection.  Sometimes  elaborate  stairways  led 
down  to  the  door  of  the  chamber  ;  in  most,  however, 
holes  were  left  cut  into  the  sides  of  the  shaft,  so  that 
we  found  entrance  and  exit  by  the  same  means  as  the 
workmen  themselves  who  had  made  these  tombs  some 
thousands  of  years  before. 

Nothing  of  any  kind  was  ever  found  in  these  tombs 
except  the  mummies  themselves,  probably  because  every 
one  had  been  rifled  long  ago.  The  stone  tables  of 
offerings,  thirteen  of  which  were  picked  up,  show  that 
originally  the  usual  concomitants  of  burial  had  been 
placed  in  them,  and  as  all  these  tables  were  found  at 
various  heights  in  the  filling  of  the  shaft,  it  is  obvious 


134    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


that  they  had  been  thrown  back  by  the  spoilers  as  not 
worth  carrying  away. 

The  Arrangement  of  the  Burial. — In  the  treat- 
ment of  the  body,  swathing  and  mummifyiDg  were  the 
two  methods  adopted.  In  the  sand-pits  swathing,  in 
the  shaft-pit  tombs  mummifying,  was  the  invariable 
rule.  In  the  square  chamber  tombs  mummifying  had 
apparently  been  universal,  but  the  mummies  had  been 
so  broken  up  by  spoilers  as  to  leave  no  clue  to  their 
original  appearance.  In  all,  the  body  lay  with  the  feet 
to  the  east,  and  in  the  sand-pits  it  was  "  earth  to  earth 
burial,  there  being  no  traces  of  coffins. 
Clay  In  the  filling  of  the  square  pits  a  large  number  of 

Masks,  ^jg^y  masks  was  found,  so  that  the  custom  seems  to  have 
been  to  enclose  the  swathed  or  mummified  body  in 
a  sun-dried  clay  coffin,  on  the  lid  of  which,  just  over  the 
face,  a  clay-modelling  of  the  face  of  the  dead  was  affixed 
with  wooden  pins.  That  these  clay  masks  were  not  all 
made  on  a  conventional  model,  but  attempted  to  repro- 
duce a  likeness  of  the  dead,  is  manifest  from  the  variety 
of  types  presented.  Only  one  complete  clay  coffin  was 
found.  The  masks  were  usually  covered  with  a  thin 
coating  of  some  kind  of  plaster,  which  was  painted  to 
resemble  the  eyes,  eyebrows,  and  complexion  of  the 
dead.  Many  of  these  masks  clearly  represent  foreigners. 
Many  fragments  of  wooden  coffins,  and  one  complete, 
were  unearthed.  The  complete  one  contained  a  mummy 
of  a  very  plain  type.  In  the  chamber  of  a  shaft-pit 
tomb,  which  had  been  wasted  by  the  sabakhin,  a  large 
limestone  sarcophagus  lay  revealed.  It  contained  a 
mummy,  but  had  no  inscription,  and  was  otherwise 
uninteresting. 


p.  135 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  135 


The  Contents  of  the  Cemetery. — The  elaborate 
and  expensive  burials  led  us  to  expect  things  of  greater 
value  than  we  found,  but  the  plundering,  which  has 
been  going  on  continually,  is  sufficient  explanation  of 
absence  of  all  valuables.  This  fact  also  detracts  con- 
siderably from  the  value  of  any  information  that  may 
be  based  upon  our  work  here.  The  contents  may  be 
described  under  the  same  three  heads. 

1.  Domestic. — A  feature  of  the   cemetery  is  the  Pottery, 
enormous  amount  of  pottery  found  in  the  graves,  as 
many  as  forty  and  fifty  pots  being  found  in  one  burial. 

The  bulk  of  it  came  from  the  square  pits,  and  the 
remainder  from  the  sand-pits.  No  pottery,  nor  any- 
thing else  in  fact,  was  found  in  the  shaft-pit  tombs. 
The  twenty-second  and  twenty-sixth  to  thirtieth  dynasties 
were  chiefly  represented.  The  most  interesting  of  these 
were  the  Bes  pots  of  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty.  They 
bore  faces  of  Bes  rudely  modelled  upon  them  in  relief. 
The  beautiful  small  clay  vases,  which  had  evidently 
been  children's  toys,  and  a  class  of  green  glaze  pottery 
jars,  four  to  eight  inches  deep  and  two  to  three  inches 
across,  both  of  the  Ptolemaic  period,  are  also  noteworthy. 
Otherwise  the  pottery  was  poor  and  rough.  The  large 
pots  had  been  buried  with  some  liquid  or  grain.  No 
pot-burials  of  infants  were  found  here,  and  the  usual 
assortment  of  cooking-pots,  basins,  saucers,  jugs,  and 
water-jars  was  represented. 

2.  General. — All  over  the  cemetery  the  ordinary  Tables  of 
clay  tables  of  offerings,  in  shape  like  an  upturned  drink-  Offerings, 
ing-glass,  were  found  in  abundance,  but  the  stone  tables 

found  in  the  shaft-pit  tombs  were  much  more  elaborate. 
A  flat  polished  block  of  limestone,  twelve  to  fifteen 


136    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


inches  long,  ten  broad,  and  five  deep,  was  used.  Round 
the  edges  was  cut  the  dedicatory  inscription  in  hiero- 
glyphics. On  the  smooth  surface  were  carved  two 
libation  vases,  a  pool  for  the  libation,  usually  with  steps 
down  into  it,  so  that  the  "  Ka  "  might  get  down  as  the 
water  receded,  and  occasionally,  also,  flat  round  cakes 
representing  bread.  Originally  they  deposited  real  food 
and  drink  in  the  tomb  for  the  Ka  or  disembodied 
spirit's  maintenance,  and  this  supply  was  from  time 
to  time  renewed.  But  as  in  other  phases  of  their 
religion  the  reality  gradually  gave  place  to  the  sem- 
blance, and  only  models  of  food  in  clay  were  buried 
latterly.  It  seems  to  have  been  of  the  nature  of 
ancestor- worship.  If  suffering  or  misfortune  befel,  it 
was  traced  to  the  neglect  of  this  duty  of  renewal  of 
supplies  in  the  case  of  some  dead  relative,  whose  spirit 
was  accordingly  enraged  with  them.  The  models 
possessed  the  further  advantage  that  they  did  not  need 
renewal.  It  is  quite  an  interesting  phase  in  the 
development  of  their  religious  life,  that  while  they  in 
many  cases  soon  realised  the  absurdity  of  their  super- 
stition in  practice,  they  cheerfully  parted  with  the 
literal  practice  on  grounds  of  utility,  but  retained  the 
superstition  itself  all  through  to  a  late  period  in  their 
history.  As  we  shall  see  later,  some  phases  of  it, 
indeed,  have  survived  in  their  posterity  of  to-day. 

Another  illustration  of  the  same  practice  is  the  group 
of  bronze  Situlse,  or  libation  tankards,  all  three  of  which 
were  found  in  one  square  pit.  The  largest  stood  fifteen, 
and  the  smallest  ten  inches  high.  The  gazelle-head 
drinking-cup  is  eighteenth-dynasty  work,  and  had  been 
re-used  in  the  burial  where  we  found  it,  since  in  the 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  137 


next  chamber  of  the  group  in  which  it  was  found  we 
found  three  small  Greek  vases  of  the  beautiful  black 
and  terra-cotta  type,  which  bring  the  burial  down  to 
Ptolemaic  times. 

3.  Ornamental. — Of  this  class  little  need  be  said. 
An  enormous  quantity  of  blue  glaze  beads  of  every 
type  was  found  in  what  had  been  burials  of  women, 
but  as  they  had  been  scattered  and  displaced  by  spoilers, 
no  clue  could  be  obtained  for  the  reconstruction  of  the 
strings,  necklaces,  or  bracelets,  as  they  had  been  worn 
originally.  A  similar  quantity  of  blue  glaze  amulets, 
figures  of  deities,  was  collected.  The  finer  material  had 
all  disappeared,  the  beads  having  been  left  as  worthless. 

Ali  Marah. — Twenty-two  sand-pit  and  brick-built 
graves  were  examined  here,  and  all  of  them  contained 
materials  of  the  Israelite  period.  One  was  a  slipper- 
shaped  face  coffin  burial,  with  ten  fine  small  pots 
arranged  round  the  coffin,  and  a  good  collection  of 
beads,  blue  glaze  pendants,  and  two  scarabs  inside. 
Of  the  pottery,  two  were  small  Cypriote  pilgrim-bottle 
types,  and  three  were  alabasters.  In  other  graves  five 
fine  gold  ear-rings  were  found.  The  strip  examined 
was  on  the  edge  of  a  modern  cemetery,  so  that  very 
little  was  left,  but  there  was  evidence  of  the  existence 
of  an  eighteenth  and  nineteenth-dynasty  cemetery  of 
some  considerable  size.  It  is  situated  about  two  miles 
and  a  half  due  east  of  the  ruins  of  Goshen,  and  as  the 
only  trace  of  ruins  in  the  vicinity  was  of  Roman  date, 
this  must  have  been  part  of  the  ancient  cemetery  of 
Goshen. 

The  Inhabitants  of  Goshen  in  the  Israelite 
Period. — From  the  data  afforded  by  these  three  por- 


138    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


tions  of  the  cemetery,  we  may  draw  some  inferences  as 
to  the  class  of  Egyptians  who  were  the  contemporaries 
of  Israel  in  Goshen.  All  over,  we  have  found  indica- 
tions that  they  were  on  the  whole  a  comfortable,  fairly 
well-to-do,  middle-class  people,  some  of  them  perhaps 
very  poor,  and  none  of  them  very  rich.  The  small 
number  of  ushabtis  found  is  a  safe  indication  of  this. 
It  is  quite  noteworthy,  that  in  seven  sites  examined  so 
few  were  found,  and  only  eight  in  Goshen  cemetery 
itself.  Had  there  been  any  wealthy  magnates  resident 
here,  or  buried  here,  there  must  have  been  ushabtis 
buried  with  them  in  great  numbers.  At  On  (Helio- 
polis),  we  gather  from  the  Bible,  it  was  quite  different, 
for  Joseph  himself  was  servant  to  Potiphar,  an  inferior 
officer  of  Pharaoh's  Court  there,  but  the  cemetery  of 
On  is  as  yet  a  sealed  treasure.  The  presence  of  gold 
and  silver  jewellery  in  such  small  quantity  is  another 
indication  ;  and  of  all  the  burials  examined,  there  were 
really  very  few  that  could  be  described  as  the  graves 
of  ordinarily  wealthy  people.  The  slipper-shaped  coffins 
were  among  the  best :  all  of  them  burials  of  women, 
as  the  jewellery  found  among  the  sand  inside  showed. 
The  complete  absence  of  stone  vases,  so  commonly  found 
in  ordinary  burials  in  Upper  Egypt,  is  perhaps  to  be 
explained  by  the  fact  that  there  is  little  or  no  stone 
to  be  found  in  the  Delta,  rather  than  to  be  regarded  as 
further  indication  of  their  poverty.  We  have  suffi- 
cient proof  that  the  stone  which  they  used  in  building 
was  imported  from  Upper  Egypt,  as  for  example,  the 
black  granite  of  the  shrine  erected  by  Nekht-hor-heb, 
which  came  from  the  quarries  at  Beni  Hasan. 

In  their  religion,  as  we  should  expect  from  their 


p.  138 


ROMAN  GLASS  VASES  AND  DRINKING  CUP 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  139 


proximity  to  Bubastis,  the  seat  of  her  worship,  they  Relig:ion 
showed  a  preference  for  the  goddess  Bast,  and  for  Bes, 
the  protector  of  infants.  Blue  glaze  amulets,  figures  of 
Bast,  were  found  in  most  of  the  women's  tombs,  and 
no  child's  burial  seemed  complete  without  a  few  glaze 
figures  of  Bes,  which  the  child  had  worn  as  amulets  in 
life.  We  have  already  referred  to  the  constant  re- 
currence in  child  burials  of  the  double-faced  pendants. 
The  repulsiveness  of  their  features  is  remarkable,  and 
these  are  most  likely  a  variety  of  the  Bes  worship. 

There  is  not  the  slightest  indication  that  the  presence 
of  the  Yahweh  (Jehovah)  worshippers  in  their  midst 
had  infected  them  with  the  Yahweh  cult.  It  is,  perhaps, 
more  likely  that  their  religion  had  a  modifying  influence 
upon  that  of  the  Israelites,  if  not  a  developing  influence  ; 
and  some  day  the  data  necessary  to  show  how  far  the 
Egyptian  religion  has  influenced  the  religion  of  Moses 
may  be  found.  At  all  events,  the  Goshenites  held  all 
the  main  tenets  of  the  Egyptian  creed.  They  shared 
the  ordinary  belief  about  the  future  life,  burying  every- 
thing which  they  thought  they  would  need  with  their 
dead.  Food,  drink,  furniture,  jewellery,  tables  of 
offerings,  etc.,  they  consigned  to  the  grave,  in  the  con- 
ventionally pious  belief  that  they  were  thereby  doing 
them  a  real  service,  the  last  service,  in  fact,  which  they 
could  render  them. 

Six  or  eight  hundred  years  afterwards  the  inhabi- 
tants were  a  much  wealthier  class,  as  the  other  portion 
of  the  cemetery  at  Suwa  shows.  The  pottery  of  the 
earliest  period  is  not  of  an  expensive  type.  Of  the 
jewellery  found,  however,  much  is  exquisite  and  of  real 
value,  and  bears  out  the  tradition  of  the  Egyptian 


140    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


woman's  partiality  for  jewellery  in  all  ages,  a  feature 
which  is  quite  as  strong  in  the  Egyptian  woman  of  the 
present  day. 

Their  interchange  of  commerce  with  Cyprus  and 
Syria  at  this  early  date  has  already  been  referred  to. 

On  the  whole,  one  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  two 
facts  in  regard  to  the  Israelite  sojourn  for  450  years 
in  this  region.  It  is  surprising  that  not  the  slightest 
reference  to  them  has  been  found  in  any  shape  what- 
ever ;  and  now  that  the  town  of  Goshen  itself  has  been 
examined,  it  is  equally  surprising  to  find  no  trace  of 
their  cemetery,  nor  even  the  slightest  trace  of  any 
influence  exerted  by  them  upon  their  taskmasters. 
One  cannot  help  feeling  that  it  is  next  to  impossible 
for  two  races  of  such  diversity  of  character,  sympathies, 
and  religion  to  live  alongside  of  each  other  so  long, 
without  exerting  a  mutually  modifying  influence  upon 
each  other,  which  would  be  bound  to  show  itself  in 
their  habits  and  mental  outlook.  But  if  such  influence 
has  been  exerted,  it  certainly  has  not  been  a  case  of 
the  "  victor  vanquished,"  for  the  Egyptian  of  Goshen 
remained  as  much  an  Egyptian  as  the  rest  of  his 
countrymen.  He  certainly  did  not  part  with  his 
individuality,  or  even  a  fraction  of  it,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  case  with  the  Israelite.  We  fear  the 
favour  has  been  all  on  the  side  of  the  latter ;  but  as 
yet  the  evidence  is  not  to  hand,  however  strong  the 
presumption  of  his  indebtedness  may  be,  to  prove  the 
extent  of  Egyptian  influence  upon  the  manners,  life, 
and  religion  of  the  Israelite,  as  we  find  him  portrayed 
in  the  Old  Testament.  And  the  whole  difficulty  is 
only  more  complicated   by  the    fact,  that    there  is 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  141 


absolutely  no  inherent  improbability  in  the  Bible 
narrative  itself.  Indeed,  from  what  we  know  by 
Egyptian  documents  and  inscriptions,  the  story  of  a 
race  of  shepherds  finding  a  haven  in  so  suitable  a 
place  as  the  land  of  Goshen  is  the  likeliest  thing 
which  we  should  have  expected  to  happen.  From 
Pithom  right  up  the  Wady  Tumilat,  the  grazing  of  the 
comparatively  uncultivated  land  appears  to  have  been 
regularly  let  out  to  shepherds  from  Syria  and  Canaan 
from  the  earliest  date,  so  that  nothing  is  more  likely 
than  that  a  race  of  shepherds  from  that  quarter  should 
ultimately  have  obtained  a  settlement  there.  The 
attractiveness  of  the  pasture  was  in  itself  sufficient 
motive,  but  the  addition  of  a  friend  at  court  made 
the  arrangement  of  terms  a  much  easier  and  more 
advantageous  matter  for  them.  The  Bible  itself,  on 
the  other  hand,  supplies  sufficient  evidence  of  the 
insecurity  of  tenure  in  PalestiDe  (see  Gen.  xiv.,  etc.) 
to  justify  us  in  presuming  that  such  a  migration,  on 
such  favourable  terms,  would  have  been  heartily 
welcomed  by  the  brethren  of  Joseph. 


VII 


MODERN  INHABITANTS  OF  GOSHEN 
THE  PEOPLE  AND  THEIR  OCCUPATION 

Exclusive  of  large  towns,  the  population  of  the  district 
may  be  divided  into  the  two  classes,  Bedawin,  or  nomad 
shepherds,  and  Fellahin,  or  peasant  farmers.  The 
The  Bedawin,  at  one  time  the  only  inhabitants  of  Goshen, 
Bedawin.  described  by  Joseph  as  "the  abomination  of  the 
Egyptians"  (Gen.  xlvi.  34),  are  now  fast  disappearing 
from  the  district,  driven  further  and  further  back  into 
the  gebel  by  the  rapidly  advaocing  cultivation,  and 
suppressed  also  to  some  extent  by  the  more  stringent 
administration  of  justice  under  the  English  rule. 

In  some  ways  it  will  be  a  great  loss  to  the  country 
when  these  sturdy  representatives  of  Laban  and  the 
ancient  patriarchs  finally  disappear.  It  means  the 
removal  of  another  link  between  the  present  and  the 
past,  and  one  more  picturesque  feature  will  have 
vanished  when  the  Bedawin  encampments  on  the 
lower  reaches  of  the  gebel  are  no  longer  to  be  seen. 
Nor  will  the  landscape  be  the  only  sufferer,  for  the 
wild  freedom  of  their  outdoor  roaming  life  has  im- 
parted to  their  character  and  deportment  a  picturesque 
dignity,  a  firmness  and  decision,  which  make  the 
average  Fellah  appear  an  uncultured   dolt  in  com- 

142 


A  PRISCESS  OF  THE  DESERT— RHEYTA 


BEDAWJN  CHILDREN 

p.  142 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  143 


parisoD.  Twelve  years  ago  (1895),  when  we  were 
excavating  at  Nagada,  in  Upper  Egypt,  the  peasants 
seemed  to  be  in  great  dread  of  an  encounter  with  these 
unscrupulous  marauders,  and  regarded  them  simply  as 
parasites,  who  flourished  on  the  labours  of  the  Fellahin 
by  theft  of  their  crops.  While  crossing  the  Syrian 
desert,  between  Baghdad  and  Damascus,  the  following 
year,  I  found  them  regarded  with  the  same  fear  for 
the  same  reason,  their  favourite  occupation  being  the 
plundering  of  defenceless  travellers  or  caravans  which 
they  are  able  to  overpower.  A  Biblical  parallel  to  this 
is  found  in  the  aversion  with  which  the  Israelites 
regarded  the  Edomites  and  other  tribes  around  them, 
after  they  themselves  had  settled  down  to  the  quieter 
life  of  cultivation  in  Palestine,  because  of  the  incessant 
attacks  and  plundering  expeditions  which  these  made 
upon  their  territory.  Their  hand  has  ever  been  against 
all  who  live  settled  lives.  They  are  naturally  of  a 
restless,  roving  disposition,  fond  of  excitement,  and  born 
thieves,  though,  by  their  own  code  of  morals,  they  do 
not  rank  as  such.  The  freedom  of  the  desert  seems  to 
impart  to  their  character  something  of  the  Celtic 
disregard  of  legal  restrictions,  and  of  reckless  inde- 
pendence, which  the  hills  seem  also  to  bestow  upon 
their  children.  Their  idea  of  the  law  of  property  is 
that  property  belongs  only  to  him  who  is  able  to  seize 
and  retain  it,  and  there  is  no  restriction  as  regards  the 
methods  adopted  in  acquiring  it.  The  Bedawi  of  the 
Egyptian  Delta,  however,  is  a  very  different  type  from 
these.  He  is  tame  in  comparison.  There  is  something 
exhilarating  in  the  very  presence  of  the  wild  eastern 
freebooter  of  the  Euphrates  valley.    You   may  ride 


144    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


alongside  of  him  a  whole  day,  and  deem  him  the  most 
agreeable  and  courteous  companion  you  have  ever  met, 
but  there  is  always  that  in  his  eye  which  reminds  you 
that  it  is  only  because  you  are  too  strong  for  him,  or 
too  well  protected,  that  he  does  not  play  his  other  role 
and  rob  you.  In  Egypt  now,  you  may  pass  safely 
through  encampments  of  Bedawin  day  after  day  un- 
protected and  without  molestation,  and  one  never  hears 
of  marauding  expeditions.  They  seem  quite  a  peaceful, 
law-abiding  class,  contentedly  rearing  their  flocks,  taking 
them  to  the  market  like  ordinary  Fellahin,  and  paying 
the  peasants  honestly  for  the  fodder  and  grain  which 
their  ancestors  used  to  take  without  ceremony.  This 
is  one  of  the  many  marked  improvements  in  Egypt 
which  are  to  be  traced  directly  to  the  English  influence. 
The  Ishmaelitish  hate,  if  it  is  not  entirely  removed,  is 
now  so  completely  kept  in  check  that  the  people  enjoy 
a  security  in  every  sense,  which  has  been  unknown  for 
man}^  centuries  in  their  country's  history.  There  are 
two  strongly  marked  features  in  the  character  of  the 
Bedawi,  his  innate  hospitality  and  his  curiosity ;  and 
these  two  combined  prompted  them  often  to  invite  us 
to  drink  coftee  with  them  in  their  tents  as  we  returned 
from  our  work  at  sunset.  They  are  of  a  proud  and 
independent  spirit.  Their  every  movement,  their 
dignified,  erect  bearing,  betray  it.  It  needs  not  the 
artificial  medium  of  dress  to  mark  out  the  Bedawi  from 
the  Fellah.  The  clownish  manner  and  the  loutish  gait 
of  the  latter  is  just  as  strongly  marked.  Some  of  the 
Bedawin  are  comparatively  wealthy,  and  all  despise 
the  Fellah.  It  was  the  proud  boast  of  Ali,  our  cook, 
though  his  family  were  now  settled  peasants,  that  he 


p.  145 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  145 


was  the  son  of  Bedawin,  and  in  comparing  our  men  the 
worst  he  could  say  of  any  was,  that  he  was  the  child  of 
peasants,  in  a  tone  of  undisguised  contempt.  It  was 
quite  noticeable  in  those  of  our  workmen,  who  were 
sons  of  the  Bedawi,  that  they  were  not  only  more  full 
of  animal  spirits  and  vivacity,  but  worth  four  or  five 
of  the  others  at  their  work.  This  superiority  was  most 
apparent  in  work  where  brains  were  needed,  and  where 
something  liad  to  be  left  entirely  to  the  man's  own 
judgment  or  discretion.  They  have  the  fiery  tempera- 
ment and  impulsiveness  of  the  Celt,  and  are  quick  and 
strong  to  resent  an  injury.  It  is  a  pity  to  think  that, 
as  they  settle  and  become  chained  to  the  soil,  many 
of  their  finer  and  more  admirable  characteristics  will 
desert  them. 

The  Fellahin  farm  the  land,  and  accept  employment  The 
as  labourers  for  Government  or  other  employers  ;  but 
we  seldom  see  farm  steadings  or  crofter  holdings  built 
conveniently  for  the  land  they  farm.  What  we  find  is 
a  series  of  small  villages  a  few  miles  apart,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  which  farm  the  adjacent  land  in  small  portions 
allotted  to  each.  Sometimes  a  man  buys  a  number  of 
acres  and  builds  a  large  house  for  himself  on  the  ground, 
and  he  at  the  same  time  builds  a  number  of  huts  in  the 
vicinity  for  the  natives  whom  he  employs,  which  form 
quite  a  little  village.  This  is  called  a  birket.  Of  old 
they  were  compelled  to  herd  together  in  villages  on 
account  of  the  ravages  of  the  Bedawin.  Isolated  farm 
steadings,  however,  are  also  found. 

Their  farm  implements  are  crude,  just  what  were  used  Farm 
many  centuries  ago  by  their  ancestors,  and  such  as  were, 
and  are  still,  used  in  Palestine.    In  ploughing  they 

K 


146    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


usually  employ  a  couple  of  buffaloes,  though  I  have  seen 
a  mule  and  a  buffalo,  a  camel  and  a  buffalo,  and  even  a 
camel  and  a  donkey  yoked  together.  The  modern 
plough  is  the  plough  of  antiquity.  It  consists  of  an 
iron  sock  like  the  tine  of  a  grubber  affixed  to  an  upright 
pole.  To  this  pole,  just  above  the  sock,  is  lashed  one 
end  of  the  beam,  while  at  the  other  end  is  afi&xed  a  cross- 
bar, which  passes  over  the  necks  of  the  buffaloes.  The 
driver  uses  no  reins,  but  guides  his  animals  with  a  long 
pole  in  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  holds  on  to 
the  upper  end  of  the  upright,  and  keeps  the  sock  into 
the  ground.  The  result  is  a  mere  scratch  of  three  inches 
deep  on  the  surface,  and,  as  the  soil  is  mostly  alluvial 
and  very  pliable  when  not  too  dry,  the  work  is  not  hard 
on  either  man  or  beast.  Another  implement  in  use  is 
a  heavy  wooden  flat-bottomed  box  with  handles  and 
open  at  the  front.  By  tilting  it  up  while  the  buffaloes 
are  pulling,  the  driver  fills  it  with  soil,  which  he  deposits 
in  drills  or  as  he  wishes.  This  also  serves  the  purpose 
of  a  harrow.  The  most  interesting  part  of  the  farmer's 
Irriga-  work  is  the  irrigation.  For  this  purpose  the  shadoof  is 
still  the  most  primitive  implement  in  use.  A  long  pole 
is  balanced  over  two  uprights  driven  into  the  river  bank. 
To  one  end  is  affixed  by  a  rope  of  the  necessary  length 
a  clay  jar  or  bucket  and  to  the  other  a  mass  of  clay  of 
sufficient  weight  to  balance  the  vessel  when  full.  It  is 
a  slow  and  expensive  process,  and  it  must  be  tedious 
work  for  a  man  to  stand  all  day  dipping,  raising  and 
emptying  the  bucket  into  the  irrigation  channel,  all  the 
more  that  there  is  little  to  show  for  his  day's  work  at 
the  end  of  it.  This  is  being  replaced  by  a  long  wooden 
drum,  with  a  screw  suction  arrangement  inside,  worked 


FIELD  LAID  OUT 


p.  147 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  147 


by  a  crank  at  one  end.  The  cylinder  is  dipped  in  the 
water  and  two  men  sit  revolving  the  crank  hour  after 
hour,  while  the  water  pours  out  of  it  into  the  channel. 
The  principle  of  the  syphon  has  never  been  adopted,  but 
it  is  certain  that  as  the  price  of  labour  advances  with 
increasing  prosperity,  these  expensive  methods  will  have 
to  be  replaced  by  methods  that  will  need  less  labour  in 
proportion  to  the  work  accomplished.  The  most  rapid 
means  of  irrigation  employed  is  the  sagyah  or  water- 
wheel.  With  its  arrangement  of  cogged  wheels  of  wood, 
by  which  the  vertical  wheel  carrying  its  string  of  jars  is 
revolved,  the  water  is  much  more  expeditiously  raised, 
and  though  it  needs  the  labour  of  a  buffalo  or  camel  with 
a  driver,  it  is  perhaps  by  far  the  cheapest  method  in  use. 
Wheels  with  iron  chains  and  steel  or  zinc  buckets  im- 
ported from  Europe  are  now  replacing  the  old  wooden 
wheels,  but  the  creaking  music  of  the  sagyah,  one  of  the 
first  features  that  strikes  the  visitor,  will  probably  long 
be  heard  in  the  land. 

Under  crop  the  fields  are  usually  laid  out  in  a  series 
of  small  squares  with  sides  banked  up,  and  channels  are 
so  cut  as  to  communicate  with  them  till  all  are  sub- 
merged. 

The  principal  crop  is  maize  or  wheat  (durra).  When 
it  is  harvested  it  is  collected,  and  men  and  women  sit  for 
days  picking  off  the  corn  ears,  making  a  heap  in  the 
centre,  which  they  gradually  enclose  by  a  palisade  made 
of  the  straw  stuck  in  the  soil.  The  straw  is  too  strong 
and  rank  to  be  used  for  animals'  food,  and  is  either 
burned  or  employed  in  hut-building.  During  these 
operations  the  men  keep  watch  over  the  corn  against 
thieves  all  night  in  turn. 


148    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


To  this  custom  of  picking  off  the  corn  ears  there  is 
probably  a  reference  in  1  Sam.  viii.  12  :  "  will  set  them 
to  ear  his  ground  "  (A.V.),  which  the  R.  V.  translates  "  to 
plow  his  ground  "  ;  and  in  the  light  of  this  custom  the 
A.V.  gives  excellent  sense. 

Sugar-cane  is  also  largely  and  successfully  grown  in 
Goshen,  but  the  natives  have  not  as  yet  taken  to  growing 
turnips  or  potatoes,  though  the  latter  can  be  purchased 
in  all  the  towns  of  any  size.  Bread  made  from  durra, 
ground  iu  hand-mills  by  the  women,  and  garlic  are  still 
the  staple  food  of  the  peasant,  though  on  special  occa- 
sions the  poorer  classes  also  use  flesh. 


YOUNG  GIRLS 


p.  149 


VIII 


MODERN  INHABITANTS  OF  GOSHEN 
THE  POSITION  OF  WOMAN 

The  greatest  blot  on  Mohammedan  civilisation  is  the 
position  assigned  to  woman.  Among  the  lower  classes 
she  ranks  scarcely  higher  than  a  beast  of  burden.  In 
the  ordinary  work  of  the  fields  the  woman  does  the  work 
of  labourer,  carrying  all  the  heavy  burdens  where 
donkeys  are  not  employed.  When  they  set  out  to 
market  in  full  dress,  the  fellah  walks  unimpeded  in  front, 
the  woman  trudges  behind,  often  almost  borne  to  the 
ground  with  the  burden  of  produce  which  she  carries  on 
her  head,  and  this  duty  she  has  to  perform  irrespective 
of  her  state  of  health,  under  the  sweltering  sun  and  with- 
out the  least  assistance  from  her  husband,  who  would 
deem  himself  degraded  were  he  to  stoop  to  such  a 
menial  duty.  If  they  possess  a  donkey  the  man  rides 
and  the  woman  pants  breathlessly  behind  carrying  the 
load  all  the  same.  If  he  do  the  journey  on  camel,  he 
will  give  the  woman  a  seat  behind  the  hump,  but  only 
because  she  could  not  keep  pace  with  the  animal.  There 
is  perhaps  no  real  degradation,  where  no  degradation  is 
felt.  Mohammedan  women  have  been  so  long  accus- 
tomed to  quietly  accept  the  place  assigned  to  them,  that 

149 


150    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


they  would  probably  feel  it  an  insult,  if  this  menial 
position  were  withheld  from  them,  and  the  spectacle  of 
a  gentleman  carrying  a  lady's  parcel  in  the  street  of  a 
western  city  would  move  them  to  uncontrollable  deri- 
sion. Such  is  the  power  of  custom.  But  an  onlooker 
can  see  the  case  as  it  really  is,  with  all  its  deteriorating 
influences  upon  the  character  of  woman,  and  through 
her  upon  the  character  of  the  race. 

Her  domestic  duties  are  light.  She  cleans  the  house, 
if  that  can  be  described  as  cleaning,  which  consists 
merely  in  removing  in  the  morning  all  evidences  of  the 
presence  of  the  cattle  from  the  outer  court,  for  cattle 
and  people  herd  within  the  same  enclosure  over  night. 
There  is  practically  no  cooking  to  be  done,  since  flesh 
is  seldom  used  among  the  ordinary  fellahin  ;  but  she 
has  to  grind  the  corn  and  prepare  bread  from  the  flour, 
which,  with  milk,  garlic  and  dates,  forms  their  staple 
food.  She  attends  to  the  children,  too,  though  the 
attention  she  bestows  can  only  be  described  as  neglect. 
As  a  rule  they  are  excessively  dirty,  looking  as  if  their 
bodies  had  never  made  the  acquaintance  of  water. 
Their  stomachs  are  unnaturally  distended  by  careless 
feeding,  and  they  are  seldom  free  from  the  ophthalmia 
so  prevalent,  and  so  effectively  spread  by  the  flies.  The 
wonder  is  that  blindness  is  not  more  common  than  it  is. 
It  is  painful  to  think  that  a  nation  practically  under  the 
government  of  the  most  highly  civilised  of  nations  is 
still  so  ignorant  of  the  most  ordinary  sanitary  pre- 
cautions against  disease.  If  there  is  an  open  sore  about 
the  child,  the  mother's  idea  of  healing  it  is  to  keep 
continually  picking  olf  the  scars,  and  she  seems  to  have 
no  idea  of  keeping  the  sore  clean.     The  Koran  is  said 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  151 


to  be  responsible  for  the  immunity  which  vermin  enjoy 
among  them. 

The  woman  also  performs  a  weekly  mockery  of  wash- 
ing, and  yet  the  wonder  is  that  they  take  the  trouble 
at  all,  for  it  is  impossible,  living  as  they  do,  that  the 
clothes  which  were  washed  to-day  could  be  clean  to- 
morrow. The  average  fellah,  however,  makes  a  point  of 
coming  out  in  a  clean  outfit  when  he  goes  to  market 
or  on  the  occasion  of  any  holiday  or  feast-day.  In 
addition  she  has  charge  of  the  finances,  and  at  the  sale 
of  cattle  or  antiques  her  consent  is  generally  obtained 
before  a  bargain  is  struck. 

Education  in  the  outlying  parts  is  practically  a  minus 
quantity.  In  Sharhanba  with  its  population  of  a  few 
hundreds  there  was  a  school,  and  facilities  are  to  some 
extent  afforded,  but  only  a  small  proportion  seem  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  of  educating  their 
children.  A  generation  back,  however,  there  were  no 
such  facilities,  and  among  the  adult  men  not  one  in  a 
hundred  can  write  his  own  name.  It  is  even  worse  in 
the  case  of  women.  They  are  not  only  stupidly  ignorant, 
but  their  ignorance  amounts  to  a  total  unconsciousness 
of  the  fact  that  there  is  anything  in  the  world  to  learn 
which  they  have  not  already  acquired.  They  are 
ignorant  even  of  the  elementary  principles  of  house- 
keeping, and  have  had  no  training  to  fit  them  for  the 
duties  of  motherhood.  The  result  is  that  among  infants 
the  death-rate  is  abnormally  high.  Both  men  and 
women  are,  however,  fond  of  their  children,  and  one 
may  now  see  even  infant  girls  getting  their  fair  share 
of  regard,  though  it  was  not  always  so.  Formerly  a 
girl  counted  as  nothing  in  the  family,  and  even  yet  she 


152    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


does  not  get  the  welcome  of  a  boy,  and  when  a  woman 
goes  to  pray  for  a  child,  it  is  always  a  son  that  she 
petitions  for.  It  is  not  want  of  affection,  but  sheer 
ignorance  that  is  to  blame  for  the  fact  that  only  a 
proportion  of  the  infants  born  survive  the  reception 
which  they  meet  with.  A  medical  mission  with  a  good 
staff  of  nurses  could  do  an  enormous  service  to  humanity 
among  the  fellahin  women  of  Egypt,  if  they  were  able 
first  to  inspire  them  with  confidence.  That  something 
on  these  lines  should  be  done  is,  in  fact,  a  crying  need 
of  the  country. 

Unquestionably  the  real  root  of  the  evil  lies  in  early 
marriage.  Most  girls  are  rushed  into  the  cares  and 
responsibilities  of  married  life  at  the  age  of  twelve  or 
fourteen,  and  at  the  age  of  forty  or  less  a  woman  looks 
old  and  haggard,  while  few  live  to  see  fifty  or  sixty. 
The  marriage  contract  is  a  purely  commercial  transaction. 
The  girl  has  no  choice  in  the  matter.  She  regards 
herself  simply  as  so  much  merchandise  to  be  disposed 
of  by  her  parents,  whenever  a  suitable  candidate  comes 
forward  with  the  required  price.  The  man  who  wants 
a  wife  informs  his  relatives,  names  the  sum  which  he  is 
prepared  to  give,  and  may  suggest  the  direction  in  which 
they  are  to  seek  her.  Having  selected  a  likely  match, 
these  enter  into  negotiations  with  her  parents,  and  if 
they  are  inclined  to  entertain  the  proposal,  arrangements 
are  made  for  the  suitor's  female  relatives  to  inspect  the 
proposed  bride.  On  their  joint  report  he  decides  for  or 
against.  These  preliminaries  having  been  settled,  pre- 
parations are  made  for  the  wedding.  The  bridegroom 
never  sees  the  face  of  the  bride  until  the  evening  of  the 
day  on  which  the  ceremony  is  performed.    At  a  certain 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  153 


stage  in  the  feast  he  leaves  his  male  friends,  and  in  the 
presence  of  women  relatives  the  bride  is  unveiled  before 
him.  When  he  returns  loudly  praising  her  and  pro- 
claiming his  own  good  fortune,  the  male  relatives  and 
guests  join  the  chorus  of  praise,  and  their  shouts  are 
generally  the  signal  for  the  orchestra  placed  outside  the 
window  to  add  to  the  paean  with  the  ud harmonious 
screeching  of  Egyptian  bagpipes  and  the  dismal  din  of 
little  drums.  Into  such  an  arrangement  the  element  of 
choice  on  the  basis  of  mutual  affection  cannot  enter,  and 
whether  any  affection  springs  up  between  them  after- 
wards it  is  impossible  to  say.  No  one,  however,  will 
hesitate  to  condemn  the  principle  as  being  hurtful  to 
the  highest  interests  of  the  race,  and  as  depriving  the 
home  life  of  one  of  the  most  purifying  and  ennobling 
influences  at  its  command.  It  degrades  the  woman.  It 
robs  her  of  the  highest  incentive  to  the  noble  self- 
sacrifice  which  motherhood  demands,  and  it  leaves  her 
to  face  her  bitterest  trials  unsustained  by  the  sympathy 
or  affection  of  him  who  should  be  her  mainstay  through- 
out. She  cannot  regard  herself  as  anything  more  than 
a  domestic  utensil,  a  necessary  part  of  a  man's  outfit. 
She  is  never  allowed  to  think  of  herself  as  anything 
else. 

The  price  which  a  fellah  pays  for  a  wife  ranges  from 
ten  to  twenty  pounds,  but  the  less  favoured  can  be  had 
at  as  little  as  seven,  though  our  cook  assured  me  that 
a  good  wife  cannot  be  had  at  that  figure,  and  Dr  Petrie's 
foreman,  Ali,  proved  it  by  sad  experience.  Having 
made  up  his  mind  to  marry,  he  obtained  the  promise  of 
the  necessary  advance  up  to  twenty  pounds.  Ali,  how- 
ever, knew  of  some  girls  in  the  Fayum  who  were  not 


154    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


sufficiently  endowed  to  command  a  large  price  in  the 
matrimonial  market,  and  one  of  whom  he  could  purchase 
at  seven  pounds.  To  the  Fayum,  therefore,  he  went, 
and  brought  home  his  blushing  bride  at  the  price  he 
said.  But  she  has  proved  an  expensive  investment. 
His  married  life  has  not  been  happy.  He  divorced  her 
very  soon  and  married  another.  The  second  left  on  a 
visit  to  her  people,  and  they  refused  to  give  her  up 
unless  he  paid  a  further  sum  for  her.  Thereupon  he 
married  a  third,  and  now  the  parents  of  the  second  are 
claiming  aliment  for  their  daughter,  for  they  probably 
think  his  English  employer  has  unlimited  wealth  to 
place  at  Ali's  disposal. 

The  insecurity  of  the  woman's  position  is  further 
aggravated  by  the  facility  of  divorce.  A  man  has  but 
to  say  "  I  divorce  thee  "  in  presence  of  witnesses,  and 
the  marriage  tie  is  dissolved.  Mohammed,  however, 
added  a  wise  qualifying  clause,  which  sometimes  leads 
to  amusing  situations,  though  it  was  intended  to  safe- 
guard against  rash  and  impulsive  dissolution  of  the  tie. 
If  a  man  divorce  his  wife,  he  cannot  marry  her  again 
until  she  has  first  been  the  wife  of  another.  At  Shibin 
a  sheikh  had  a  quarrel  with  his  wife,  of  whom  he  was 
very  fond,  and  in  the  heat  of  passion  divorced  her, 
repenting  almost  immediately.  As,  however,  she  could 
not  return  till  she  had  first  been  married  to  another,  he 
arranged  privately  with  a  servant  of  his  own  to  marry 
her  and  immediately  after  the  ceremony  to  divorce  her. 
To  this  the  servant  agreed,  and  everything  went  well 
until  the  ceremony  was  over,  when  an  awkwark  hitch 
occurred  on  account  of  the  servant's  refusing  to  divorce 
her. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  155 


What  fills  one  with  a  sense  of  ineffable  disgust, 
among  the  lower  class  of  orientals  at  least,  is  the  fact 
that  there  is  nothing  of  the  interchange  of  soul  between 
man  and  woman,  which  goes  so  far  to  sweeten  and 
strengthen  the  married  relationship  among  more  highly 
civilised  peoples.  The  whole  relationship  is  shadowed 
by  the  thought  of  the  physical.  They  seem  incapable 
of  thinking  of  each  other  except  from  this  point  of  view, 
and  all  their  habits  and  customs  are  naturally  coloured 
by  it.  Even  interchange  of  conversation  is  forbidden 
between  the  sexes  where  unrelated.  It  is  an  infringe- 
ment of  modesty  to  even  look  in  the  direction  of  a 
w^oman  as  she  passes,  and  to  visit  a  house  except  in  the 
presence  of  the  master  is  equivalent  to  a  breach  of  one 
of  the  sternest  laws  of  morality.  Among  the  lowest 
ranks,  however,  these  restrictions  are  more  or  less  dis- 
regarded in  practice,  though  honoured  in  theory.  And 
with  it  all,  they  cannot  be  described  as  of  a  high  moral 
order. 

As  we  should  expect,  the  women  are  coarse  in  their 
language  and  coarse-minded.  The  very  children  are 
coarse  with  a  coarseness  that  would  probably  be  unin- 
telligible to  the  vilest  waif  from  some  of  the  lowest  dens 
in  the  worst  slum  of  our  country.  And  it  cannot  be 
otherwise  for  them,  living  as  they  do,  whole  families 
packed  into  one  small  room  by  day  and  night,  and 
hearing  the  vilest  of  conversation  more  frequently  than 
anything  that  is  even  passably  decent,  not  to  say 
edifying.  This  any  one  can  gather  from  hearing  them 
address  their  children  in  the  street,  and  from  hearing 
the  children  among  themselves.  It  will  be  no  surprise 
to  learn  that  the  average  Arab  hears  of  the  decease  of  a 


156    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


wife  with  no  great  discomposure,  and  indeed  the  work- 
man with  us,  who  would  show  manifest  signs  of  grief 
over  the  death  of  a  brother  or  male  cousin,  and  would 
immediately  set  out  to  see  him  buried,  would  never 
dream  of  losing  a  day's  pay  to  attend  the  funeral  of  a 
wife  or  female  relative.  When  his  wife  displeases  him, 
the  husband  beats  her  at  his  own  sweet  will,  and  in  the 
presence  of  her  own  children  or  any  of  his  neighbours 
for  that  matter.  It  is  a  mild  accusation  to  say  that 
Mohammedanism  has  not  succeeded  in  imparting  a 
high  tone  to  the  domestic  life  of  its  votaries.  That, 
perhaps,  is  more  the  fault  of  its  followers  than  of  the 
creed  itself. 

It  would,  however,  be  demanding  too  much  of 
human  nature  to  expect  that  all  Arab  women  submit 
with  patience  in  the  atmosphere  of  abuse  and  disregard 
in  which  they  are  condemned  to  live.  Any  one,  who 
lives  for  a  time  in  one  of  their  villages,  may  have  reason 
to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  occasionally  at  least  his 
pity  may  have  to  be  extended  to  the  members  of  the 
other  sex. 

Polygamy,  perhaps,  plays  its  part  also  in  the  degrada- 
tion of  woman,  but  though  any  Mohammedan  may 
marry  four  wives,  monogamy  is  much  more  common. 
The  Arab  frankly  admits  that  he  finds  the  latter  prefer- 
able, both  on  the  ground  of  expense  and  in  the  interests 
of  peace  and  quietness  in  the  home. 


IX 


MODERN  INHABITANTS  OF  GOSHEN  (continued) 
SOME  MARKED  CHARACTERISTICS 

Though  nominally  followers  of  Mohammed,  their  re-  Religion, 
ligion  still  retains  distinct  traces  of  ancestor-worship 
and  moon- worship,  as  well  as  what  might  be  classed  as 
a  species  of  Fetich  ism. 

They  endow  any  monument  of  antiquity  with  some 
sort  of  miraculous  power,  either  the  power  of  healing 
sickness  or  of  giving  offspring  to  the  childless.  This 
is  perhaps  to  be  regarded  really  as  a  phase  of  ancestor- 
worship.  We  mention  elsewhere  an  instance  of  this  at 
Belbeys,  where  visitors  came  regularly  to  the  tomb  of 
the  Sheikh  Sadun  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  spirit  of  this 
benefactor  of  his  race  in  the  removal  of  their  troubles. 
Not  only  did  the  poor  come  but  even  people  of  wealth 
and  good  standing  bringing  their  servants  with  them. 
At  Shibin  a  similar  instance  was  observed.  The  people 
there  endowed  the  large  alabaster  paving-blocks,  which 
once  formed  the  floor  of  the  hall  of  the  summer  palace 
of  Rameses  III.,  with  the  same  gift  of  healing,  or  they 
regarded  them  as  the  abode  of  some  beneficent  spirit 
of  bygone  days.  They  came  there  with  their  troubles, 
walked  round  them  many  times,  and  before  leaving 

157 


158    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Sympa-  deposited  pieces  of  their  clothing  or  of  their  plaited 
Magic     ^^^^  blocks,  weighting  them  with 

a  small  stone  to  prevent  the  wind  from  removing  them. 
On  one  occasion  an  old  Arab  brought  a  sickly  buffalo 
which  he  drove  round  and  round  the  stones  a  number 
of  times,  evidently  with  the  same  hope  of  a  cure  being 
effected.  It  is  difficult  to  see  in  this  anything  but  an 
example  of  sympathetic  magic.  The  piece  of  garment 
or  hair  is  obviously  intended  as  a  medium  through 
which  each  one's  cure  may  be  effected.  It  serves  also 
to  keep  them  in  constant  touch  with  the  Afreet,  or 
spirit  inhabiting  the  stone,  while  at  the  same  time  it 
acts  as  a  means  by  which  the  spirit  may  distinguish 
and  recognise  each  owner. 
Charms.  Like  their  ancestors  the  people  generally  wear  amulets 
or  charms,  only  the  beautiful  blue  glaze  figures  of  deities 
are  now  replaced  by  the  much  more  prosaic  charm 
written  on  paper  and  sewn  into  a  small  leather  case. 
These  are  worn  sometimes  round  the  neck,  sometimes 
attached  to  parts  of  their  dress  or  belongings.  Tt  is 
quite  a  common  sight  to  see  buffaloes  or  other  animals 
wearing  similar  charms  against  evil  suspended  from 
their  necks. 

Saints.  Any  person  of  position,  who  lived  or  died  in  an  odour 
of  sanctity  or  with  whose  name  benevolence  had  been 
associated,  like  those  in  the  line  of  direct  descent  from 
the  prophet,  seems  to  become  a  saint  and  his  tomb  is 
constantly  visited  by  people  in  trouble,  while  in  any 
emergency  his  name  will  be  invoked.  In  lifting  a 
heavy  weight  or  doing  any  work  where  several  must 
work  in  unison,  the  men  frequently  invoke  in  a  sort  of 
rythmic  chorus  the  assistance  of  some  such  saint,  begin- 


CHILDREN  AT  SCHOOL — BELBEVS 


CHILDREN  SABAKHIN  ON  SAND  WALL  OF  BURRU  YUSEF 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  159 


ning  each  fresh  etFort  with  an  emphatic  invocation  of 
the  name. 

Most  people  are  familiar  with  the  dances  of  the  Moon- 
dervishes,  but  few  perhaps  have  seen  the  milder  form  ^^^^^^1 
which  these  orgies  take  in  the  small  villages.  When 
the  moon  was  full  our  men  from  Upper  Egypt  often  came 
out  of  their  huts  and  arranged  themselves  in  a  double 
row  facing  each  other.  One  was  told  off  to  lead  in  the 
centre,  and  he  chanted  short  passages,  while  the  rest 
kept  up  a  constant  accompaniment  repeating  the  word 
"  Ullah "  or  "  ya  UUah "  in  the  deep  guttural  tone 
peculiar  to  the  Arab.  All  the  time  they  swayed  and 
twisted  their  bodies  from  side  to  side  in  unison,  while 
their  feet  remained  rigid.  They  begin  slowly,  but  as 
the  excitement  grows  upon  them  the  speed  of  both 
swaying  and  singing  goes  on  increasing,  and  they  keep 
this  up  sometimes  till  they  fall  down  in  sheer  exhaustion, 
while  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  one  or  several  to 
rush  off  to  the  desert  in  a  mad  frenzy,  their  friends 
having  to  pursue  and  bring  them  back.  This  per- 
formance never  took  place  except  during  full  moon,  and 
it  is  very  probable  that  it  is  a  moon-worship  festival 
pressed  into  the  service  of  Mohammedanism. 

On  one  occasion  at  Nagada,  in  Upper  Egypt,  we  were 
suddenly  aroused  between  two  and  three  in  the  morning 
by  a  clashing  din  mingled  with  excited  shouting  of  men. 
On  coming  out  we  found  all  our  workmen  marching  in 
procession  into  the  desert,  each  one  having  appropriated 
an  empty  petroleum  can  or  biscuit  box,  or  anything 
that  would  give  forth  sound,  which  he  kept  beating 
with  all  his  might,  at  the  same  time  chanting  some 
appropriate  form  of  words.     It  was  a  weird  experience, 


160    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


and  the  spasm  of  excitement  which  had  so  visibly  laid 
hold  of  the  men  communicated  a  thrill  that  added 
piquancy  to  the  scene.  As  he  rushed  past  in  excited 
haste,  one  of  them  found  breath  to  tell  me  that  a 
monster  had  come  to  steal  away  the  moon,  and  they 
were  going  out  to  frighten  him  off.  The  fact  was  an 
eclipse  of  the  moon  had  occurred,  but  whether  they  had 
known  of  its  coming,  or  had  discovered  it  by  accident,  I 
never  found  out.  They  remained  in  the  desert  beating 
their  extemporised  drums  and  chanting  their  weird 
incantation  until  a  corner  of  the  returning  moon  became 
visible,  when  they  returned  in  a  flutter  of  suppressed 
excitement  and  joy  in  the  fact  that  the  moon  had  once 
more  gained  the  victory  over  her  malign  enemy. 
Fanati-  A  prolonged  residence  among  them  will  probably  lead 
cism.  ^Yie  conviction  that  the  old  fanatical  hatred  of  the 

Christian,  though  it  appears  to  slumber,  is  still  keenly 
alive  within  their  breasts.  Continual  association  with 
Europeans  has  partly  toned  it  down,  but  what  most 
effectively  prevents  its  expression  is  the  knowledge  that 
they  cannot  indulge  it  without  suffering  severely. 
One  therefore  never  sees  in  Egypt  the  bitter  and 
aggressive  fanaticism  which  is  everywhere  met  with  in 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  While  sailing  up  that 
river  from  Niffer  to  Hillah,  in  an  adverse  wind,  we  were 
compelled  on  one  occasion  to  throw  ourselves  upon  the 
hospitality  of  an  Arab  Sheikh  for  the  night.  We  were 
received  with  considerable  ceremony,  and  ushered  into 
his  large  reception-room  built  of  strong  reeds  bent  into 
circular  arches  and  covered  over  with  reed  matting. 
The  Sheikh  was  a  young  man  of  powerful  make,  and 
otherwise  impressed  us  as  by  far  the  strongest  character 


THE  HEALING-BLOCK  (SAND  WALL  OF  AVARIS  IN  DISTANCE) 

p.  160 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  161 


we  had  ever  met  among  them.  He  could  not  have 
been  more  than  twenty-five  years  of  age,  but  his  cast  of 
countenance,  his  ease  of  manner  and  dignity  of  de- 
portment, marked  him  out  pre-eminently  as  one  born 
to  rule.  It  was  easy  to  see  that  he  commanded  both 
the  respect  and  obedience  of  even  the  grey-haired 
counsellors  who  ranged  themselves  around  him.  In 
his  sympathies  he  was  intensely  Mohammedan,  and, 
therefore,  strongly  anti-Christian  to  the  point  of 
fanaticism. 

He  first  found  fault  with  us  for  treading  on  his  floor- 
matting  without  putting  off  our  boots  at  the  door,  and 
further  complained  that  one  of  our  number  had  not 
respectfully  salaamed  him  on  his  entrance.  The  first 
omission  having  been  rectified,  when  we  retired  to  a 
corner  along  with  our  Jewish  agent  and  the  Sheikh 
to  rectify  the  second,  he  showed  himself  completely 
mollified  at  once,  and  then  proceeded  to  discuss  with  us 
the  respective  merits  of  the  three  religions  which  we 
represented.  He  held  out  to  us  every  possible  induce- 
ment to  settle  with  him  and  become  Mohammedan,  the 
climax  being  that  he  offered  to  provide  us  with  wives 
on  the  spot ;  and  when  we  still  refused,  he  turned  away 
with  ill-concealed  disgust,  and  from  that  moment  his 
attitude  lost  its  tone  of  hopeful  cordiality.  When  coffee 
was  about  to  be  served,  his  servant  asked  if  he  should 
provide  each  of  us  with  a  cup,  and  he  replied  with  great 
scorn,  "  Let  them  all  driuk  from  one  cup,  and  let  us 
smash  it  afterwards — Christian  dogs !"  He  did  not  drink 
with  us,  thereby  omitting  the  mark  of  respect  usually 
paid  to  guests  on  equal  footing.  However  distasteful  it 
may  be  to  him,  the  Egyptian  of  any  standing  never 

L 


162    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


omits  this  courtesy.  When  the  Omdeh,  or  provost, 
of  the  village  entertained  us  at  Sharhanba  he  drank 
from  the  same  cup  after  us,  and  passed  it  round  to  the 
other  Arab  gentlemen  who  were  present ;  and  only  one 
refused  to  touch  it,  and  I  observed  that  he  neither  ate 
nor  drank  with  us,  though  he  indicated  no  feeling  of 
antipathy. 

Fatalism.  They  are  pronounced  fatalists — fatalists,  in  fact,  to 
the  exclusion  of  all  individual  effort.  They  look  upon 
themselves  as  simply  parts  of  a  great  mechanism  con- 
trolled by  a  mighty  power,  whose  will  they  cannot 
alter  or  control.  Whatever  comes  to  them  is  kismet — 
the  fate  ordained  for  them,  and  unavoidable.  This 
deprives  them  naturally  of  all  power  of  initiative  as 
individuals,  and  entirely  checks  their  progress  as  a 
nation,  if  carried  to  its  logical  issue.  But  the  more 
enlightened  are  not  quite  slaves  to  this  tenet,  nor 
indeed  can  they  now  be  regarded  as  sincere  devotees 
of  Mohammed.  They  make  no  secret  of  their  scepticism 
in  frank  conversation  with  an  educated  European. 
In  the  case  of  the  average  Arab,  however,  if  evil  be 
ahead  of  him,  he  deems  it  useless  to  try  to  avert  it, 
even  if  he  see  it  coming ;  and  if  good,  he  considers 
it  equally  futile  to  try  to  hasten  its  coming. 

The  typical  illustration  of  this  is  the  story  of  the 
Arab  reclining  in  the  shadow  of  a  crazy  old  wall, 
which  might  fall  on  him  at  any  moment.  A  Christian 
remonstrated,  with  the  object  of  inducing  him  to  avoid 
the  danger,  but  he  replied  :  "  If  it  is  kismet  that  I  be 
overwhelmed  by  this  wall,  I  cannot  escape  it ;  and  if 
it  is  not,  then  I  am  quite  safe."  This  creed  serves 
him  well  in  another  way.     He  will  never  accept  the 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  163 


blame  of  his  own  mistakes,  and  thus  penitence  is  a 
thing  entirely  foreign  to  his  nature.  There  is,  in  fact, 
no  word  for  regret  or  penitence  in  the  language  of 
everyday  use.  The  nearest  to  it,  and  the  word  con- 
stantly used,  is  the  equivalent  of  our  word  "  sick "  or 
angry."  So  if  he  offend  another  and  apologise  for 
it,  what  he  says  is  mcCalesh^  "  it  does  not  matter," 
"  it  is  nothing,"  as  if  he  meant  to  indicate  that  his 
mistake  was  simply  part  of  the  great  unavoidable,  and 
the  other  accepts  it  as  such. 

If  you  dismiss  a  lazy,  careless  workman,  telling  him 
why  you  do  so,  your  admonition  will  fall  on  heedless 
ears.  He  consoles  himself  with  the  reflection,  that  it  is 
kismet  that  he  should  not  work. 

In  the  same  way  they  acquiesce  with  the  utmost 
cheerfulness  and  indifference  in  the  misfortunes  of 
others,  much  after  the  manner  of  Job's  friends,  recog- 
nising their  suffering  as  part  of  the  inevitable  ordained 
for  them.  If  their  neighbour's  house  take  fire,  or  is 
being  robbed  by  a  predatory  gang,  they  will  even 
stand  by  inactive,  afraid  lest  by  their  interference 
with  what  is  destined  to  happen  they  should  divert 
the  dreaded  fate  to  themselves.  From  this  want  of 
combination,  a  determined  band  of  robbers  could  at  their 
leisure  loot  a  whole  village  with  impunity. 

Their  lack  of  initiative  is  only  too  apparent.  The 
average  Arab  has  not  a  spark  of  enterprise  in  him. 
He  seldom  brings  any  intelligence  to  bear  upon  his 
work,  and  he  must  be  subjected  to  unremitting  scrutiny. 
If  you  leave  it  to  himself  to  arrange  how  a  piece 
of  work  is  to  be  done,  he  will  either  hopelessly  muddle 
it,  or  do  nothing.    Express  orders  he  understands,  and 


164    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


if  they  are  not  too  complex,  he  will  carry  them  out 
to  the  letter  in  some  cases,  but  he  is  never  in  a  worse 
quandary  than  when  his  choice  of  action  is  left  to 
himself  Among  the  trained  men  we  found  one  or 
two  out  of  fifty  who,  after  several  years'  experience 
and  drilling,  could  plan  their  work  and  detect  the  places 
which  would  likely  prove  most  profitable.  The  others, 
if  set  to  a  piece  of  work  and  told  how  to  do  it,  could 
be  relied  on  to  carry  out  their  instructions  faithfully  ; 
but  the  recruit  needed  constant  watching  and  guidance. 

It  is  a  feature  of  all  Orientals,  that  so  long  as  they 
are  kept  in  a  position  of  dependence  or  subjection, 
they  will  do  well,  and  on  the  whole  prove  fairly  reliable, 
but  the  moment  they  are  exalted  to  a  place  of  re- 
sponsibility they  become  absolutely  untrustworthy.  The 
ordinary  Arab  or  Turk  may  be  a  very  good,  reliable 
servant,  but  put  the  robes  of  office  upon  him  and  the 
rod  of  power  in  his  hand,  and  at  once  he  becomes  a 
rapacious,  grasping  cheat,  using  his  power  as  a  means 
to  enrich  his  private  exchequer.  In  our  work,  had 
we  encouraged  one  to  act  as  foreman,  or  appeared  to 
be  guided  by  him,  we  should  have  found  in  a  few 
days  that  he  was  using  this  influence  to  levy  blackmail 
on  the  other  men,  under  the  threat  that  he  would 
have  them  dismissed  if  they  refused.  We  could  not 
even  employ  a  new  workman  on  the  recommendation  of 
one  already  employed  for  the  same  reason. 

The  law  of  moral  overstrain  holds  good  of  them 
in  a  special  degree.  The  Oriental  cannot  successfully 
resist  any  long-continued  temptation,  even  where  he 
is  continually  overlooked ;  much  less  where  there  is 
no  one  immediately  at  hand  to  survey  his  actions. 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  165 


In  the  Turkish  official  classes  there  are  explanatory 
reasons  for  this,  such  as  the  insecurity  of  their  position 
and  the  smallness  and  uncertainty  of  their  pay,  but 
even  these  are  not  sufficient  to  explain  away  this  radical 
defect  in  their  character. 

The  meanest  Oriental,  however,  possesses  one  virtue  Hospi- 
to  a  degree  perhaps  never  equalled,  but  certainly  never 
excelled,  by  any  European,  and  that  is  his  hereditary 
virtue  of  hospitality.  The  poorest  stranger  is  not 
allowed  to  pass  his  door  without  an  invitation  to 
enter  for  rest  and  refreshment.  This  is  a  virtue 
common  to  rich  and  poor  alike,  and  it  is  performed 
without  hope  of  any  reward,  beyond  perhaps  the 
gratification  of  his  curiosity  in  learning  something  of 
his  guest's  affairs ;  and  even  in  conversation,  if  the 
guest  show  a  disposition  to  be  reticent  on  his  own 
matters,  his  host  will  not  show  any  resentment,  nor 
unduly  press  the  subject. 

On  every  occasion  when  we  entered  a  village,  the 
Sheikh  was  sure  to  hear  of  our  presence  at  once,  and 
immediately  he  sought  us  out  and  entertained  us  in 
his  reception  room  with  the  leading  men  of  the  village. 
The  reception  room  in  a  small  village  is  very  plain 
as  a  rule  and  scantily  furnished,  but  in  larger  towns 
it  is  often  comfortably  supplied  with  European  furniture. 
It  is  always  quite  distinct  from  the  rooms  occupied  by 
the  family,  and  such  a  visit  gives  no  insight  into  the 
family  life.  The  usual  furnishing  is  a  cushioned  divan 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  room,  on  which  the  honoured 
guests  are  seated  beside  the  host,  while  the  rest  of  the 
guests  seat  themselves  on  the  straw  matting  which 
covers  the  floor. 


166    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


An  Oriental  travelling  in  our  country  for  the  first 
time  must  feel  somewhat  bewildered  on  discovering 
that  there  is  no  such  place  as  a  public  reception  room 
in  our  large  houses,  where  all  and  sundry  may  expect 
to  find  refreshment,  or  that  he  may  pass  door  after 
door  and  never  be  invited  to  enter.  He  would  pro- 
bably express  himself  in  no  measured  terms  on  our 
apparent  churlishness  and  mercenary  spirit. 

The  future  must  decide  how  far  education  is  likely 
to  develop  the  character  of  these  people.  The  children 
are  now  attending  school  in  considerable  numbers,  and 
the  younger  generation  can  for  the  most  part  read  and 
write,  but  among  grown-up  men  and  women  very  few 
possess  these  accomplishments.  So  far  as  our  observa- 
tion goes,  we  always  found  that  the  Khatim,  or  "  scribes," 
who  did  the  letter-writing  for  the  camp,  were  the 
dirtiest  and  laziest,  as  well  as  the  most  worthless  work- 
men in  the  camp. 


X 


TELL  Ell  RETABEH 

THE    TREASURE-CITY  R  AMESES 

DISCOVERED  IN  1906 

About  eight  miles  from  Pithom,  and  two  miles  along 
the  desert  from  the  modern  station  Qassassine,  lie  the 
ruins  of  a  very  ancient  fortress  deeply  embedded  in 
drifted  sand.  The  series  of  mounds  is  known  as  Tell 
er  Eetabeh.  Over  twenty  years  ago  Dr  Naville  cursorily 
examined  the  place,  and  concluded  that  it  must  have 
been  a  "  camp,  probably  of  late-Roman  times,  one  of 
the  military  stations  posted  along  the  canal  leading  to 
the  Red  Sea "  ;  and  since  that  time  the  site  has  been 
left  unexplored. 

That  it  was  a  fortified  camp  may  be  inferred  with 
certainty  from  the  absence  of  house  ruins,  and  such 
objects  as  are  usually  found  in  them,  as  well  as  the 
fact  that  much  of  it  consists  of  a  few  enclosing  walls 
filled  up  with  blown  sand  and  ashes.  But  the  work  of 
Dr  Petrie  here,  in  the  spring  of  1906,  has  proved  it  to 
be  one  of  the  oldest  known  sites  in  this  region,  and 
never  to  have  been  occupied  by  the  Romans  at  all. 
The  history  of  the  fort  appears  to  date  from  the  earliest 
dynasties.  A  jasper  weight  of  Khety  of  the  ninth 
dynasty  (c.  3106  B.C.),  stone  vases  of  the  old  kingdom, 

167 


168    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


and  scarabs  of  the  ninth  to  the  twelfth  dynasties 
(3100-2500  B.C.)  were  found  on  the  site;  and  this 
evidence  is  confirmed  by  the  depth  of  over  twelve  feet 
of  ruins  beneath  the  buildings  of  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  dynasties,  and  the  discovery  of  a  human 
sacrifice  under  the  oldest  wall.  While  searching  for  a 
foundation  deposit  under  this  oldest  wall,  the  men  came 
upon  a  small  brick-built  grave  containing  the  bones  of 
a  very  young  infant,  and  beside  it  a  neatly  arranged 
stack  of  bricks,  which  had  probably  been  left  over  after 
building  the  grave.  A  deep  pit  had  been  made  in  the 
clean  gravel,  the  grave  had  then  been  built,  the  cere- 
monial burial  performed,  and  the  whole  pit  refilled 
with  dirty  gravel,  both  stack  and  grave  being  covered. 
On  the  top  of  the  filling  lay  five  inches  depth  of  clean 
sand,  and  on  the  top  of  this  the  lowest  tier  of  this 
oldest  brick  wall.  This  is  regarded  as  an  instance  of 
Child  the  Syrian  custom  of  child  sacrifice,  which  was  later 
Sacrifice,  j-gpia^^^gj  \yy  ^j^^  burial  of  a  burning  lamp,  the  extinction 
of  the  flame  symbolising  the  extinction  of  the  spark  of 
life.  Instances  of  this  custom  have  been  found  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  recent  excavations  in  Palestine. 
It  is  a  probable  inference,  therefore,  that  this  fort  had 
been  originally  built  by  Syrians,  perhaps  about  the 
time  of  the  Syrian  invasions  of  Eg3^pt  after  the  sixth 
dynasty  (c.  3330  B.C.),  since  the  custom  of  child  sacrifice 
has  never  been  traced  among  the  Egyptians. 

The  first  fortification  of  this  place  would  seem  to 
date  as  early  as  3330  B.C.,  and  the  occupation  to  have 
continued  for  a  considerable  period  afterwards,  for  there 
is  an  accumulation  of  fifteen  feet  of  town  ruins  above 
this  wall  before  we  reach  eighteenth-dynasty  times.  Of 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  169 


the  Israelite  period  the  most  important  discovery  was 
the  temple  of  Eameses  II.  From  the  first  it  was  Dr 
Petrie's  main  quest,  and  for  some  time  he  searched  for 
it  to  no  purpose,  making  extensive  and  deep  clearances. 
His  only  reward  was  the  finding  of  half  the  front  of  the 
temple,  a  piece  of  statuary  representing  Rameses  smiting 
a  Syrian  before  the  god  Atmu,  which  had  been  dragged 
away  for  building  purposes  and  then  abandoned.  At 
last,  however,  just  at  the  end  of  the  season's  work,  the 
site  of  the  temple  itself  was  found,  and  the  walls  traced. 
Rameses  had  built  it  on  the  top  of  fifteen  feet  of 
eighteenth- dynasty  town  rubbish,  thus  confirming  the 
early  occupation  of  the  site.  The  walls  had  been  of 
black  bricks,  the  doorway  of  limestone.  The  front  of 
the  temple  had  been  all  of  stone.  On  the  left  of  the 
door  as  one  entered  was  the  large  scene  of  Rameses 
smiting  the  Syrian,  the  god  presenting  a  falchion  to 
the  king ;  and  on  the  right  was  a  similar  scene  of  the 
king  before  the  god  Set,  of  which  fragments  were  found. 
The  stones  which  had  completed  the  front  were  picked 
up  at  various  parts.  Over  the  doorway  cartouches  were 
cut,  surmounted  by  two  pairs  of  large  feathers. 

The  stone  front  was  "  not  free-standing,  for  the  brick 
walls  of  the  fore-court  joined  on  to  its  ends."  It  was 
about  fourteen  feet  long  and  twelve  feet  high  to  the 
foot  of  the  cornice.  The  scenes  at  each  side  of  the  door 
had  a  stone  dado  uncarved  below  them  to  a  height  of 
fifty-six  inches,  and  the  door  was  only  twenty-two  inches 
wide.  The  whole  front  was  painted  in  bright  colours. 
Atmu  wore  a  blue  dress,  the  kilt  having  a  yellow  border, 
with  yellow  shoulder-straps  and  belt.  The  king's  dress 
was  more  defaced,  but  the  same  colours  prevailed.  The 


170    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


captive  wore  a  tunic  with  red  and  blue  stripes,  with  red 
belt  and  blue  kilt.  The  body  of  each,  as  usual,  was 
red,  and  the  background  of  the  scene  was  yellow. 
There  was  the  usual  laudatory  inscription  carved  on 
the  stone. 

Inside  the  temenos  lay  a  red  granite  dyad  of  Rameses 
and  the  god  Atmu  standing  side  by  side,  the  upper  por- 
tion being  defaced  and  the  lower  cut  away.  This  must 
be  the  double  figure  statue  seen  by  the  lady  Sylvia  on 
her  pilgrimage  in  380  A.D.,  which  her  monk  guides  told 
her  represented  Moses  and  Aaron. 

Another  interesting  find  of  this  period  is  the  large 
house  near  to  the  temple  site.  Inside  it  were  found 
several  jars  containing  silver.  Unfortunately,  it  had 
all  been  melted,  and  was  of  no  value  except  for  its 
intrinsic  worth.  Scarabs  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  and 
pottery  down  to  the  twenty-second,  found  here  show 
that  this  occupation  of  the  place  probably  extended 
from  1400-800  B.C. 

A  door-jamb  from  a  tomb,  which  had  been  re-used  in 
the  town,  bears  an  inscription,  which  Petrie  translates 
as  follows  : — "  Chief  archer,  keeper  of  the  granaries, 
keeper  of  the  palace,  user-maat-ra-nekhtu-ne-thuku  ; 
chief  archer,  keeper  of  the  granaries  of  Ta-nuter,"  the 
name  being  repeated.  T^-nuter  here  means  Syria,  so 
that  there  seems  to  have  been  granaries  for  storing  the 
Syrian  produce,  as  we  should  expect.  The  word 
THUKU  is  the  Semitic  Succoth,  booths,  the  name  of  the 
first  place  at  which  the  Israelites  halted  after  leaving 
Eameses  (Exod.  xii.  37),  and  the  name  of  this  official 
is  in  honour  of  the  king  "  mighty  in  Succoth." 

Mr  Griffith,  however,  reads  the  inscription,  keeper 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  171 


of  the  foreigners  of  Ta-nuter,"  or  Syria,  and  he  identifies  The 
the  "  foreigners  of  Syria "  as  being  the  Israelites  in  q^q\^ 
Rameses,  thus  :  "  Chief  archer,  keeper  of  the  foreigners  Syria, 
of  Syria  in  Succoth,  keeper  of  the  residency  in  Succoth, 

USER-MAAT-RA-NEKHTU,"    taking    NE-THUKU    from  the 

official's  name  and  reading  it  with  the  first  part  of  the 
inscription. 

A  cemetery  yielded  a  considerable  quantity  of  pottery, 
beads,  scarabs,  etc.,  dating  down  to  the  twenty-second 
dynasty.  Only  one  ushabti  was  found,  and  that  in  the 
large  house,  a  feature  of  the  district  already  commented 
on. 

Between  the  first  occupation  and  the  eighteenth 
dynasty  the  site  had  been  deserted  for  some  time,  as  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  the  later  accumulation  of  town 
rubbish  joins  immediately  on  to  the  denudation  of  the 
earliest  walls.  This  period  would  probably  be  the  Hyksos 
period,  when  there  was  not  the  same  need  for  frontier 
defence.  It  would  appear  then,  that  Eamesis  II.  built 
a  temple  and  granaries  here,  and  otherwise  embellished 
the  town  ;  but  he  does  not  appear  to  have  rebuilt  the 
fortifications,  perhaps  because  in  his  time  the  country 
was  safe  from  the  danger  of  invasion  from  Syria.  The 
next  fortification  of  the  place  is  by  Rameses  III. 
(1202-1170  B.C.),  and  under  one  corner  of  a  gateway 
his  foundation  deposit  was  found.  Pans  and  cups  were 
irregularly  laid  in  the  sand,  with  bones  of  a  sacrifice 
between  them,  and  glazed  offerings  of  oxen,  heads, 
haunches,  ducks,  with  scarabs,  beads,  and  plaques  bear- 
ing his  name,  were  roughly  thrown  in  above  them. 
This  wall  had  also  been  denuded,  and  at  a  later  date 
still  the  place  had  once  more  been  fortified. 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


The  period  of  occupation  which  chiefly  interests  us 
is,  of  course,  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties, 
and  there  is  now  little  doubt  that  this  is  the  site  of  the 
treasure-city  of  Rameses,  at  which  the  Israelites  are  said 
to  have  la])oured.  The  following  are  the  main  grounds 
of  identification : — 
Grounds  ^'  Harris  papyrus  shows  that  there  was  a  "city 
of  identi-  called  the  house  of  Ra-messu.  Mery.  Amen  (Eameses  II.) 

containing  a  temple  of  Sutekh,  where  Ramessu.  Heq. 
On  (Rameses  III.)  built  a  temple  to  his  own  name,'* 
somewhere  between  the  nome  Athribis  and  Bailos.  We 
expect,  therefore,  to  find  in  Rameses  a  temple  built  by 
Rameses  II.,  and  further  enlarged  or  embellished  by 
Rameses  III.  This  temple  has  been  unearthed,  and 
the  fact  that  a  fine  head  of  Rameses  III.  was  found  in 
the  site  shows  that  he  also  added  to  its  equipment,  and 
left  his  statue  to  commemorate  his  work. 

2.  In  the  temple  ruins  an  inscribed  stele  was  found 
describing  the  great  achievements  of  Rameses  II.  It 
speaks  of  him  as  conquering  the  hill  fortresses  of  the 
Bedawin,  and  "  building  in  cities  upon  which  his  name 
is  to  eternity."  This  reference  to  building  in  the 
various  cities  named  after  him  suggests  that  this  is  one 
of  them. 

3.  On  the  temple  scene  already  described  one  line 
reads,  "Atmu,  Lord  of  Succoth,  gives  him  all  valour 
and  strength,"  and  thus  indicates  Succoth  as  an 
alternative  name  for  the  town,  or  for  the  district 
around  (cf.  Exod.  xii.  37  ;   xiii.  20). 

4.  In  an  account  of  a  pilgrimage  made  about  380 
A.D.  by  a  lady  named  Sylvia  from  North  Italy,  and 
published  by  Gammurini,  the  lady  says  that  on  leaving 


THE  GREAT  Hr)USE— RaMESES 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  173 


Heroopolis  (Pithom)  she  went  to  the  land  of  Goshen, 
sixteen  miles  distant,  and  passed  through  Eameses, 
which  "  was  only  four  miles  from  Goshen."  Tell 
Eetabeh  comes  nearest  to  these  distances  of  any  site 
yet  suggested.  It  is  eight  miles  from  Pithom,  and 
only  a  few  miles  outside  the  district  of  Goshen,  then 
known  as  Arabia.  She  says,  also,  that  Eameses  was 
then  in  ruins,  and  "  amid  them  lay  a  large  stone  on 
which  were  sculptured  two  colossal  figures."  The 
people  told  her  these  represented  Moses  and  Aaron. 
This  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  dyad  of  Eameses  and 
Atmu  already  described.  She  saw,  also,  a  "  small 
sycomore  tree,  which  they  called  the  tree  of  truth,"  and 
which  the  Bishop  of  Arabia  told  her  was  "planted  by 
the  patriarchs."  It  seems  to  have  been  largely  on 
account  of  this  reference  to  the  sacred  sycomore  of 
Pa-sopt  (Goshen),  that  Naville  was  inclined  to  regard 
the  ruins  of  Goshen  town  at  Saft  el  henneh  as  the 
treasure-city  Eameses  ;  but  that  site  does  not  accord 
with  the  other  facts  known.  It  is  interesting,  however, 
to  see,  that  by  380  A.D.  the  Christian  religion  had  got 
such  a  hold  as  to  be  already  adopting  the  symbols  of 
the  ancient  religion,  and  reclothing  them  with  Christian 
garb.  The  passage  also  shows  at  how  early  a  date 
heathen  monuments  had  a  Christian  pedigree  given 
them,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  pilgrim's  craving  for  such 
information. 

5.  The  inscription  on  the  door-jamb,  if  we  accept 
Petrie's  translation,  informs  us  that  there  were  grain 
storehouses  here,  with  an  official  in  high  favour  with 
the  king  to  look  after  them.  If  we  take  Mr  Griffith's 
translation,  "  keeper  of  the  foreigners  of  Ta-nuter,  or 


174    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Syria,"  we  should  then  have  a  still  stronger  confirma- 
tion of  the  Bible  narrative,  and  practically  a  reference 
to  the  presence  of  the  Israelites  at  this  place,  the  name 
of  their  overseer,  or  chief  taskmaster,  being  User-maat- 
ra-nekhtu.  The  first  three  syllables  of  that  name  are 
part  of  the  name  of  Eameses  II.  himself,  the  Pharaoh  of 
the  oppression,  so  that  this  official  must  have  been  held 
in  high  honour  by  his  sovereign. 

The  cumulative  evidence  of  these  facts  is  very 
strongly  in  favour  of  this  having  been  the  store-city 
of  Rameses  referred  to  in  Exodus.  That  it  had  existed 
as  a  border  fort  for  over  a  thousand  years  before,  or 
that  it  was  already  a  considerable  city  with  many 
inhabitants  when  he  began  his  work  there,  or  that  he 
added  nothing  to  its  fortifications,  is  no  argument 
against  the  identification.  There  is  scarcely  a  town  in 
this  region  which  he  did  not  apply  himself  to  improving 
and  beautifying,  so  much  so  that  the  district  was  known 
as  the  land  of  Eameses.  His  work  was  far  more 
frequently  the  improving  of  towns  already  existing  than 
the  foundation  of  new  towns.  If  more  fully  examined 
than  time  allowed,  the  site  would  perhaps  yield  yet 
more  convincing  proofs,  but  the  great  and  speedy  accu- 
mulation of  drift  sand  renders  it  a  most  expensive  and 
unprofitable  site  to  work. 

One  interesting  feature  of  the  place  was  the  deep 
deposit  of  ashes  found  all  around  it ;  as  if  a  large 
encampment  of  Bedawin  had  encamped  there  for  some 
considerable  time,  leaving  no  other  evidence  of  their 
presence  but  these  ashes  of  extinguished  fires,  as  is 
always  the  case  with  Bedawin.  These  were  found  at 
the  level  of  the  nineteenth-dynasty  material.    It  may 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  175 


be  somewhat  fanciful,  but  we  cannot  help  recalling  that 
the  Israelites  were  Bedawin,  tent-dwellers,  and  that  they 
spent  the  last  of  their  time  in  Egypt  at  Eameses  ;  and, 
of  course,  their  tents  would  have  been  pitched  outside 
the  walls  of  the  town. 

Another  fanciful  reminiscence  of  the  Bible  story  is 
the  blue-glaze  frog  bowl  found  in  a  tomb.  Round  the 
brim  are  nineteen  frogs,  others  are  jumping  up  the  sides, 
and  a  crowd  are  going  towards  the  mouth,  while  one 
large  frog  sits  on  a  pedestal  in  the  middle,  as  if  all 
meant  to  rush  into  one's  mouth  the  moment  one  raises 
the  cup  to  drink.  The  spout  is  a  lion's  head,  and 
a  passage  leads  from  the  bottom  up  the  thickness  of  the 
side  to  this  head,  so  that  one  is  able  to  drink  without 
danger  from  the  frogs. 

The  bowl  has  probably  been  a  magic  cup,  drinking 
from  which  would  ensure  fertility,  the  frog  being  the 
sign  for  multitude,  the  emblem  of  the  human  embryo,  and 
the  animal  of  the  goddess  Heqt,  who  gives  life  to  the 
infant  (Petrie). 


XI 


BELBEYS  BAILOS  IN  THE  "WATER  OF  RA " 

Close  to  the  modern  Shibin,  with  its  mound  of  the 
J ewish  Lady,  where  Dr  Petrie  discovered  the  remains  of 
the  Hyksos  fort  Avaris  and  the  Temple  of  Onaias,  is 
the  modern  village  of  Belbeys,  whose  buildings  stand 
upon  the  ruins  of  a  very  old  Egyptian  city.  There 
being  too  little  to  do  at  Shibin  for  the  number  of  our 
volunteers,  Dr  Petrie  kindly  gave  me  the  option  of 
carrying  on  work  of  excavation  independently  at  some 
of  the  other  sites  which  he  wished  to  explore  in  the 
region  of  Goshen.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these 
is  this  ancient  town  at  Belbeys,  whose  story  has  never 
yet  been  read.  It  is  one  of  the  many  sites  in  Egypt 
whose  secret  may  perhaps  never  be  wrested  from  it, 
because  of  the  impossibility  of  excavating  a  place  where 
a  modern  village  has  been  erected  on  the  ruins.  But 
it  occupies  the  southern  corner  of  Goshen,  and  is,  there- 
fore, likely  to  contribute  material  of  importance  in  the 
history  of  this  region.  Nothing  was  known  of  it 
hitherto,  beyond  the  results  of  a  cursory  examination 
of  the  place  by  Naville  some  years  before.  Naville 
identified  it  as  the  "  Pi-Bailos  in  the  water  of  Ha  "  of 
hieroglyphic  inscriptions,  the  water  of  Ea,  as  discussed 
elsewhere,  being  regarded  as  the  ancient  name  of  the 

176 


BURIED  HOUSES— BELBEYS 


p.  177 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  177 


then  somewhat  marshy  district  afterwards  known  as 
Goshen.  There  appears  to  have  been  an  important 
town  here  during  the  period  of  the  Israelite  sojourn, 
and  the  cartouche  of  Rameses  II.  was  found  ;  but  most 
of  the  inscriptions  recorded  by  ]N"aville  belonged  to 
Nekht-hor-heb  of  the  thirtieth  dynasty  (c.  350  B.C.). 
It  is  well  known  that  this  dynasty  attempted  to  bring 
about  a  revival  of  Egypt's  ancient  glory ;  and  its 
monarchs  chose  the  twelfth  dynasty  as  their  model, 
endeavouring  to  reproduce  the  work  of  that  dynasty, 
especially  in  the  sculptured  monuments  which  they 
erected.  Nekht-hor-heb  was  one  of  the  most  active  in 
this  revival,  and  he  has  left  traces  of  his  influence  all 
over  this  part  of  the  Delta.  He  must  have  been  a  man 
of  considerable  force  of  character,  of  excellent  taste,  and 
of  great  energy.  The  partly  recovered  shrine  at  Saft 
(Goshen  town)  is  a  lasting  monument  to  his  ability  and 
skill,  and  he  appears  to  have  built  a  temple  at  Belbeys, 
also  with  a  sculptured  shrine.  The  monuments  found 
show  that  the  town  belonged  to  the  nome  Bubastis, 
and  worshipped  the  deities  of  that  district.  It  is  very 
likely  that  Rameses  II.  built  a  temple  here,  but  that 
must  still  remain  in  the  region  of  surmise.  Naville,  how- 
ever, found  nothing  of  the  period  between  Rameses  and 
Nekht-hor-heb,  so  that  the  nineteenth  and  the  thirtieth 
dynasties  would  seem  to  have  been  the  periods 
when  the  place  was  at  its  best. 

The  most  interesting  fact,  however,  about  Bailos,  or 
Belbeys,  is  the  statement  made  about  it  by  Merenptah, 
the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus,  in  his  inscription  elsewhere 
discussed,  that  "  the  country  round  Bailos  is  not  culti- 
vated, but  left  as  pasture  for  cattle,  because  of  the 

M 


178    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


strangers."  This  is  the  only  point  of  living  interest  to 
us  that  is  yet  known  regarding  the  place. 

The  modern  town  has  almost  entirely  covered  the 
site.  The  bazaar  occupies  the  highest  part,  and  pro- 
bably conceals  what  would  be  the  excavator's  best  prize, 
the  ancient  temple,  which  had  presumably  been  built  by 
Rameses  II.,  and  which  we  know  received  gifts  from 
Rameses  III.  I  have  frequently  wondered  that  the 
modern  inhabitants  do  no  excavation  themselves,  but 
perhaps  it  is  as  well  that  it  should  be  left  entirely  to 
foreigners  to  rescue  for  them  the  past  greatness  of  their 
country.  The  one  gem  in  their  inheritance,  of  which 
they  ought  to  feel  most  proud,  is  the  one  thing  of  which 
the  modern  Egyptian  is  most  ignorant ;  and,  while  the 
excavator  does  his  work,  the  native  stands  by  for  the 
most  part  in  pitying  contempt.  Excavation  has  only 
one  meaning  for  the  average  native.  He  cannot  realise 
how  foreigners  should  come  and  expend  time,  energy, 
and  money  for  anything  but  the  finding  of  supposed 
buried  treasure.  When  what  he  calls  treasure  happens 
to  be  unearthed,  he  is  lost  in  admiration  for  the 
Feringhi's  magical  power  of  divining  its  existence  from 
so  great  a  distance.  "When  no  "  treasure  "  appears,  he 
will,  if  he  is  friendly,  feel  it  necessary  to  express  his 
deepest  sorrow  that  the  excavator's  hopes  have  not  been 
realised,  and  no  amount  of  explanation  will  convince 
him  that  what  does  not  appear  so  to  him  is  really 
treasure  of  the  highest  value.  When  the  chief  men  of 
their  villages  came  to  our  work,  I  found  it  always  im- 
possible to  make  them  understand  that  our  real  object 
was  the  building  up  of  the  framework  of  the  history  of 
their  country.     Their  invariable  question  was,  "  Have 


.SU  FFE  H  U  .\  K  A I ;  T  H  K  D— B  U  R  K  T  Y  U.>K  F 


p.  179 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  179 


you  found  gold  or  treasure  ? "  and  their  parting  good 
wish,  "  May  Allah  give  you  much  treasure." 

We  came  to  Belbeys  having,  of  course,  no  hope  of  being 
able  to  explore  the  town  ruins,  or  of  finding  the  temple. 
What  we  sought  was  perhaps  an  even  more  important 
quest,  the  ancient  cemetery  of  the  place.  But  in  this, 
too,  we  were  disappointed.  A  most  careful  search  of 
the  sandy  gebel  on  every  side  of  the  town  revealed  no 
trace  of  burials,  and  I  now  feel  convinced  that  the 
modern  cemetery  between  the  village  and  the  canal 
occupies  the  place  of  the  ancient  cemetery.  The  only 
spot  which  offered  a  faint  possibility  was  the  mound 
known  as  Tell  Sadun,  about  one  mile  across  the  canal 
into  the  desert. 

The  mound,  crowned  with  its  Sheykhs'  tombs  and 
with  trees,  is  quite  a  striking  feature  of  the  landscape. 
The  situation  is  beautiful.  Within  a  stone-throw  of 
the  tomb  of  the  Sheykh  et  Tayr  we  pitched  our  tents 
and  ran  up  our  iron  hut,  and  here  we  were  destined  to 
have  pleasant  experiences,  which  will  probably  never 
fade  from  our  memory — experiences,  interesting  not  so 
much  in  the  way  of  valuable  discoveries  as  in  the  close 
intimacy  which  we  enjoyed  with  the  natives  and 
Bedawin  around  us,  and  the  spell  which  life  in  the 
desert  casts  upon  all  who  have  made  a  prolonged  stay  in 
it. 

We  were  on  the  edge  of  the  vast  trackless  waste 
which  stretches  between  the  Delta  and  the  upper 
reaches  of  the  Red  Sea,  somewhere  in  close  vicinity  to 
the  region  where  the  Israelites  sojourned.  Pithom  and 
Rameses,  and  the  town  of  Goshen  itself,  were  only  a  few 
miles  to  the  east,  and  everything  around  seemed  to 


180    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


speak  of  a  past  as  if  it  were  still  present  with  us.  Our 
very  workmen  might  have  stepped  out  from  the  pages 
of  the  Book  of  Exodus.  The  charm  of  the  desert  itself 
is  untranslatable.  By  day  the  most  beautiful  mirage 
was  constantly  visible  from  the  door  of  our  hut,  and  by 
night  the  moon  sailed  majestically  in  a  sea  of  azure, 
which  the  cleverest  painter  could  not  transfer  to  canvas, 
and  such  as  no  Western  can  ever  imagine.  We  were  in 
the  desert,  yet  in  no  sense  alone.  Human  companion- 
ship we  were  never  without.  Night  after  night  caravans 
with  their  trains  of  donkeys  or  camels  encamped  on  the 
other  side  of  the  mound  ;  and  rarely  a  day  passed  that 
did  not  bring  a  few  votaries  to  the  tomb  of  the  Sheykh 
Sadun  to  be  healed  of  their  ailments.  Life  was  an 
ever  varying  panorama,  without  one  single  unpleasant 
experience  to  record  in  our  intercourse  with  the  strange 
people  around  us.  Close  by  was  a  farm  from  which  we 
got  milk  and  water.  The  farmer  w^as  not  sociable,  but 
he  was  enterprising  and  energetic.  He  is  pressing 
steadily  into  the  gebel,  and  by  persistent  irrigation  and 
careful  top-dressing  is  quickly  reclaiming  to  cultivation 
large  tracts  of  what  is  now  w^aste  land,  merely  waiting 
for  water  to  make  it  reasonably  productive.  On  the 
top  of  the  mound,  a  few  yards  from  Sheykh  Sadun,  is  an 
enclosure  containing  the  tombs  of  the  Sheykh  Abdul, 
Sheykh  el  Bawab  and  his  daughter  Fatima,  one  of  them 
surmounted  by  a  muezzin  tower,  whose  chief  peculiarity 
is  that  it  is  never  used,  for  there  are  none  now  to  hear 
the  call  to  prayer  sounded  from  its  top.  That  it  was 
not  always  so,  our  work  on  the  mound  sufficiently 
showed,  for  here  had  been  an  Arab  village,  the  fires  of 
whose  hearths  had  not  been  cold  for  many  centuries. 


THE  SOOKH — DRAPERS 


p.  181 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF_„EGYPT  181 


The  last  habitation  of  the  mound  dates  not  more  than 
500  or  700  years  back,  if,  indeed,  it  is  not  even  still 
more  modern. 

Tell  Sadun  yielded  little  of  interest.  Instead  of 
being  part  of  the  cemetery  which  we  sought,  it  con- 
tained only  the  ruins  of  a  series  of  comparatively  late 
settlements  above  each  other.  We  cleared  out  several 
houses  of  a  late-Roman  date,  and  though  we  went  down 
a  depth  of  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  we  found  nothing 
earlier ;  nor  was  there  any  trace  of  burials  at  that  depth, 
as  we  might  have  expected,  if  the  earliest  settlement 
had  been  built  upon  the  site  of  the  cemetery  of  Bailos. 
Pottery  of  a  late  period  was  found  in  these  houses. 
The  most  interesting  house  cleared  had  evidently  been 
a  baker's  shop  and  oven  of  the  early- Christian  centuries. 
The  oven  was  built  of  bricks,  waist  high,  in  a  corner  of 
the  room.  The  floor  of  the  oven  was  of  mud  an  inch 
and  a  half  thick  and  baked  hard.  Underneath  it  was 
the  small  furnace,  and  in  the  corner  opposite  lay  a  pile 
of  firewood.  The  roof  was  dome-shaped,  and  of  the 
same  material  and  thickness  as  the  floor.  No  trace  of 
a  chimney  was  visible,  so  that  the  oven  was  evidently 
fired  by  inserting  the  glowing  ashes  of  burning  wood  or 
charcoal.  In  the  next  room  a  heap  of  pottery  basins, 
saucers,  and  many  coins  of  early-Arabic  date  were 
found.  The  Arabs  still  use  ovens  made  on  the  same 
principle.  As  showing  how  little  change  or  advance 
has  been  made  in  the  matter  of  house  furniture,  we 
found  in  another  house  a  "  suffeh  "  standing  upright  in 
a  corner.  The  suffeh  in  a  modern  house  is  just  a 
cupboard  made  of  mud  dried  in  the  sun.  It  is  circular, 
and  resembles  an  elongated  bee-hive,  with  a  hole  at  the 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


top  for  insertion,  and  one  at  the  bottom  for  extraction, 
of  the  contents.  It  is  in  fact  a  grain  storechamber  in 
miniature,  and  is  as  often  used  for  storing  the  wheat  to 
be  ground  for  bread  by  the  women  as  for  anything  else. 
Where  the  house  is  small  they  are  built  upon  the  roof, 
so  that  often  there  are  several  in  the  common  room  and 
a  few  on  the  roof  as  well.  It  has  often  struck  me  in 
visiting  these  houses  that  the  "  bushel "  of  the  New 
Testament  may  have  been  some  similar  contrivance  for 
the  storing  of  grain  in  the  house,  rather  than  merely  a 
measure. 

But  in  these  matters  it  is  obvious  that  the  peasants 
of  Egypt  have  not  improved  in  the  slightest  upon  the 
usages  of  their  predecessors  of  many  centuries  back. 
Nile  mud  still  remains  the  staple  material  in  the  manu- 
facture of  both  houses  and  furniture. 

The  formation  of  this  mound  is  interesting,  and 
reminds  us  of  Retabeh.  At  the  bottom  we  found 
Roman  remains  ;  next  a  layer  of  clean  sand  five  feet 
deep  ;  then  a  second  settlement,  again  covered  with  a 
similar  depth  of  blown  sand  ;  and  on  the  top  a  third 
settlement,  of  comparatively  recent  date.  Five  or 
six  feet  of  clean  sand  is  a  large  accumulation  for  the 
short  intervening  periods,  and  can  be  explained  only  by 
the  rapidity  with  which  drifted  sand  accumulates  on  an 
unsheltered  spot. 

Our  day  of  rest,  which  was  perforce  the  "  Sookh,"  or 
native  market  day,  was  regularly  heralded  by  what 
seemed  to  us  the  beating  of  very  large  unmusical  drums 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  public  slaughter-house,  at 
some  distance  off.  This  began  at  sunrise,  and  continued 
for  some  hours,  and  proved  to  be  simply  the  native 


THE  SOOKH— GRAIN  MERCHANTS 


p.  183 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  183 


method  of  skinning  a  camel,  by  first  blowing  him  up 
bard  with  a  large  bellows  and  then  beating  his  hide 
with  heavy  sticks. 

The  Sookh  in  a  country  village  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  sights  of  modern  Egypt,  and  one  which  the 
tourist  rarely  or  never  has  the  opportunity  of  enjoying. 
Formerly  the  cattle  and  dry  goods  market  was  held  in  an 
open  space  in  the  centre  of  each  village.  Of  late,  however, 
Government  has  compelled  them  to  go  to  a  fenced 
enclosure,  built  and  run  by  a  private  company,  somewhere 
outside  of  the  town.  This  is  perhaps  wise  on  sanitary 
and  other  grounds,  but  the  natives  regard  it  as  a  great 
grievance  to  have  to  pay  not  only  a  tax  for  every 
animal,  but  also  a  rent  for  the  stance  which  they  occupy 
with  their  goods,  when  formerly  it  was  free.  At 
Belbeys  the  ordinary  market  is  still  held  in  the  centre 
of  the  town,  but  the  cattle  market  is  in  an  enclosure 
quite  a  mile  across  the  canal.  As  in  an  ordinary 
bazaar,  like  that  at  Cairo,  the  merchants  of  the  various 
trades  dispose  themselves  in  lanes,  all  easily  accessible 
from  the  main  street,  which  is  left  clear.  On  the  left 
as  we  entered  from  the  town  were  the  dealers  in  copper 
utensils  busily  plying  their  trade ;  next  to  them  the 
makers  of  sieves  and  riddles ;  then  a  large  space  filled 
with  pottery  ware,  and,  close  by,  the  vegetable  vendors. 
Jammed  in  between  the  pottery  and  the  coppersmiths  was 
a  lane  of  gold  and  silversmiths.  These  are  the  greatest 
sharks  in  the  market,  and  their  prey  are  the  women, 
who  love  tawdry  jewellery  now  as  much  as  their  ancient 
predecessors  rejoiced  in  genuine  ornaments.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  main  street  were  the  shoemakers'  lane, 
the  drapers'  lane,  the  grocers,  seedsmen,  sweetmeat- 


184    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


sellers,  fruit  merchants,  dealers  in  glass  and  carnelian 
jewellery,  and  the  butchers'  stalls,  all  arranged  in  lanes, 
and  all  equally  ready  to  enjoy  a  joke  at  each  other's 
expense.  There  is  little  of  the  eagerness  to  do  business 
that  would  characterise  such  a  crowd  in  our  country, 
except  when  a  few  tourists  appear.  The  impression 
one  gathers  from  their  attitude  is  rather  that  they  are 
all  alike  indifferent  as  to  whether  they  make  sales  or 
not.  Here  and  there  in  the  moving  crowd  one 
stumbles  against  that  picturesque  feature  of  Oriental 
life,  the  water  seller,  with  his  large  skin  tankard  slung 
on  his  back,  and  the  inevitable  two  or  three  brass  cups 
rattled  against  each  other  in  his  left  hand  as  an  accom- 
paniment to  his  ceaseless  cry  of  "  moyeh,  moyeh " 
(water,  water).  To  one  who  is  ignorant  of  the  value 
of  his  wares,  the  Arab  dealer  has  no  fixed  price.  The 
price  is  regulated  by  the  supposed  ignorance  of  the 
purchaser.  If  you  choose,  you  may  give  him  what  he 
asks,  and  be  laughed  at  all  round  the  Sookh.  If  you 
are  wise,  you  will  offer  as  near  to  the  real  value  as  you 
can,  and  never  vary. 

The  day  of  rest  had  another  interest  for  us,  because 
of  the  many  visitors  to  the  Sheykh's  tomb  beside  us. 
People  of  every  rank  and  age,  mostly  women,  came 
there  to  solicit  the  aid  of  the  dead  Sheykh  for  the  cure 
of  sickness  or  removal  of  misfortune,  such  as  childless- 
ness or  want  of  male  issue.  It  was  impossible  to  find 
out  what  orgies  or  incantations  were  performed  inside 
the  tomb,  but  the  suppliant  invariably  left  a  rag  of  her 
clothing  attached  to  the  wood-work  of  the  tomb  proper, 
to  form  a  sympathetic  link  between  the  revered  dead 
and  the  suffering  living,  through  which,  as  medium,  he 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  185 


might  effect  a  cure.  The  prescription  invariably  given 
was,  it  appears,  that  the  sick  person  should  roll  down 
the  stony  slope  of  the  mound  several  times — or  rather, 
perhaps  we  should  say,  that  the  votary  further  demon- 
strated her  faith  in  his  power  by  rolling  down  the  slope 
a  greater  or  less  number  of  times,  according  to  the 
intensity  of  the  desire  within  her  to  be  healed.  Con- 
sidering the  thinness  and  scarcity  of  their  apparel  this 
was  no  mean  test  of  the  suppliant's  devotion.  Before 
leaving,  the  women  used  to  break  one  or  two  of  the 
cheap  glass  bracelets  commonly  worn,  and  throw  them 
on  the  ground,  either  to  serve  as  further  sympathetic 
media,  or  as  devotional  offerings ;  and  Tell  Sadun  is 
thus  strewn  over  with  the  fragments. 


XII 


TELL  YAHUD — THE  MOUND  OF  THE  JEW 

I.  A  CHAPTER  IX  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  EARLY- 
CHRISTIAN  CENTURIES 

Tell  Yahud,  the  modern  Rheyta,  is  the  ruins  of  a 
sand-walled  fort  or  camp  of  Roman  times,  and  in  it 
a  Roman  garrison  of  mercenaries  had  been  stationed 
for  a  considerable  period.  For  many  years  it  has  been 
a  regularly  worked  quarry  for  potsherds  belonging  to 
that  date,  which  the  natives  use  in  the  foundations 
of  their  better-class  houses  in  the  surrounding  villages. 
The  supply  seems  abundant,  and  that  nothing  earlier 
than  the  peg-bottomed  pots  of  the  late-Roman  period 
has  been  found  is  evidence  sufficient  of  at  least  the 
latest  occupation  of  the  site.  The  ruins  lie  about  four 
miles  south-east  of  Belbeys,  and  cover  a  much  larger 
area  than  the  contemporary  Roman  camp  at  Sharhanba. 
Naville  has  identified  it  as  the  Vicus  Judoeorum 
mentioned  in  the  Antonine  Itinerary.  The  place  being 
far  too  extensive  for  a  thorough  examination  in  the 
time  at  our  disposal,  we  turned  our  attention  at  once 
to  the  cemetery,  which  we  found  in  the  desert  about 
a  mile  away.  It  was  very  extensive,  and  must  have 
served  a  much  larger  community  than  we  should  expect 
to  find  in  a  mere  garrison  camp.    There  must  have 

186 


J  LK       "  IK  11 


p.  186 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  187 


been  a  large  town  as  well ;  and  as  all  the  materials 
unearthed  belong  to  the  same  period,  200-350  A.D., 
or  thereby,  town  and  camp  must  have  existed  con- 
temporaneously. The  modern  village  being  merely  a 
few  mud  huts  huddled  together,  and  offering  no  facilities 
for  the  purchase  of  necessaries,  we  decided  to  let  our 
camp  remain  at  Belbeys  and  walk  the  eight  miles  to 
and  fro  each  day. 

The  people  of  the  district  speak  of  this  as  the 
cemetery  of  the  Jews,  using  the  word  practically  as  we 
apply  the  word  Roman  to  the  same  period  of  Egyptian 
history;  and  occasional  visitors  enquired  whether  our 
excavations  confirmed  the  tradition.  There  were  several 
colonies  of  Jews  in  this  district,  with  Tell  el  Yahudiyeh 
as  their  centre,  as  we  know ;  but  in  the  graves 
examined  we  found  nothing  which  we  could  describe 
as  distinctly  Jewish,  such  as  Naville  found  at  Tell  el 
Yahudiyeh.  It  is  very  likely  that  there  is  a  Jewish 
cemetery  in  the  neighbourhood  however,  though  it  may 
now  be  under  cultivation.  "We  examined  in  all  five 
diflferent  portions  of  the  gebel,  wherever  we  saw  traces 
of  burials,  and  in  each  we  found  different  peoples  or 
different  burial  customs  represented. 

The  old  Egyptian  custom  of  burying  with  the  dead 
everything  necessary  for  daily  use,  that  they  may  pass 
into  the  next  world  fully  prepared  for  its  needs,  seems 
to  have  persisted  even  far  down  into  Christian  times. 
We  found  burials  here  which  must  have  been  later 
than  Constantine,  and,  therefore,  after  350  A.D.,  as  is 
proved  by  coins  of  his  reign  found  in  them ;  and  in 
every  case  the  people  still  buried  with  their  dead  the 
domestic  utensils,  clothing,  ornaments,  jewellery  and 


188    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


toilette  perquisites  which  they  had  used  in  life. 
Though  the  influence  of  the  first  Christian  emperor 
seems  to  have  been  strong  all  over  this  region,  it  does 
not  appear  that  the  Christian  religion,  with  its  con- 
ception of  the  future  life,  had  as  yet  taken  any  hold 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  otherwise  we  should 
have  expected  to  find  that  they  had  abaudoned  this 
custom.  In  some  graves  that  were  evidently  the 
graves  of  Christians,  we  found  the  same  practice 
adhered  to. 

We  may  divide  the  contents  of  these  burials  into 
three  classes — domestic,  ornamental,  and  general. 

1.  To  the  first  class  belongs  all  the  pottery  found. 
None  of  it  was  of  any  great  value,  and  indeed  scarcely 
an  unbroken  pot  or  vase  was  left,  for  the  graves  had  all 
been  pillaged  many  years  before,  and  the  fragments  of 
pottery  were  usually  found  in  the  filling  near  the  top. 
The  large  peg-bottomed  pots  of  the  second  to  the  fourth 
centuries,  and  the  buff-coloured  wine  amphorae,  often 
with  Greek  inscriptions  upon  the  shoulder,  were  among 
the  commonest. 

2.  The  second  class  embraces  the  greater  portion  of 
the  things  found.  The  most  common  materials  used 
were  iron,  bronze,  silver,  gold,  ivory,  stucco,  and  glass. 

Beads.  Of  beads  we  found  a  large  variety  in  onyx,  agate, 
amethyst,  ivory,  limestone,  glaze,  amber,  paste,  and, 
commonest  of  all,  glass.  The  varieties  of  glass  beads 
w^ere  interesting,  particularly  the  large  and  rare  "  gold 
in  glass  "  beads.  These  were  made  of  blown  glass  with 
a  thin  film  of  gold  leaf  somehow  affixed  to  the  inside. 
The  ivory  beads  were  well  turned,  and  often  three 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter.    They  lay  usually  near 


p.  18.S 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  189 


the  wrist,  and  may  have  been  used  as  the  modern  Arab 
uses  the  string  of  amber  beads  which  goes  with  full 
dress,  carrying  them  in  his  hand  and  fingering  them 
pensively  in  his  moments  of  abstracted  meditation. 
By  the  action  of  the  soil  the  amber  beads  had  become 
brown  in  colour,  and  so  brittle  that  they  needed  most 
careful  handling  to  preserve  them.  These  were  never 
well  turned,  but  of  most  irregular  shape  and  of  many 
sizes.  The  larger  were  shapeless  lumps  of  amber  of 
unequal  size,  with  a  hole  drilled  carelessly  and  not  even 
through  the  centre,  so  that  they  could  never  have  looked 
well  on  a  string.  They  look  more  like  the  work  of 
foreigners  who  handled  their  tools  crudely,  than  the 
work  of  the  expert  Egyptian.  The  limestone  beads 
suggest  the  same  thing.  They  were  exceedingly  rough 
and  clumsy.  The  other  stone  beads  were  evidently  of 
native  production,  and  some  of  them  of  great  beauty 
and  value.  The  greatest  variety  was  found  in  the  glass 
beads,  where  the  blending  of  colours  was  often  very 
pretty.  The  beads  alone  bring  the  date  of  the  cemetery 
down  to  the  second  or  third  century  A.D.,  for  though  we 
found  Egyptian  beads  of  an  earlier  date,  the  other  things 
around  them  showed  plainly  that  these  had  been  re- 
used. 

Gold  and  silver  had  been  commonly  worn,  for  the 
community  was  manifestly  a  wealthy  one,  but  the 
spoilers  left  nothing  of  this  class  except  what  had 
escaped  their  observation.  Several  gold  ear-rings,  how- 
ever, were  picked  up,  and  these  were  of  a  distinctly 
foreign,  apparently  Syrian,  design.  Finger-rings  and 
ear-rings  in  silver  were  quite  common,  and  one  Sasanian 
silver  coin  was  found. 


190    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


By  far  the  most  of  the  ornaments  found  were  of 
bronze,  the  material  commonl}^  used  then  in  the 
manufacture  of  cheaper  jewellery.  Finger-rings, 
ear-rings,  anklets,  bracelets,  hairpins,  buckles,  crosses, 
castanets,  discs  (perhaps  for  face  veils),  necklets, 
studs,  spoons,  and  pendants  were  found  in  large 
quantities.      No   fewer   than    nine    different  designs 

Bracelets,  of  bracelets  were  represented,  all  of  which  were 
commonly  used  in  both  gold  and  bronze  bracelets 
of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties,  many 
centuries  before.  The  commonest  were  the  com- 
plete ring  ;  the  uncompleted  ring,  with  ends  finished  but 
not  welded  together ;  the  ring  with  the  two  ends  bent 
to  form  hooks,  which  fastened  into  each  other ;  the  ring 
with  the  hooks  fastened,  the  ends  of  the  hooks  being 
bent  back  and  strapped  down  by  copper  wire,  and 
bronze  discs  sometimes  affixed  to  cover  the  fastenings. 
The  twisted  wire  bracelets  were  made  either  of  a  double 
copper  wire  twisted  together,  or  a  bronze  ring  round 
which  was  closely  wound  a  thinner  copper  wire. 
Occasionally,  small  bronze  bell  pendants  were  found 
attached  to  these. 

Buckles.  The  buckles  were  all  found  in  the  graves  of  the 
garrison  soldiers,  and  had  belonged  to  their  sword 
belts.  They  were  of  various  sizes,  and  of  designs  simi- 
lar to  those  still  in  use.  The  most  valuable  was  a 
heavy  bronze  buckle,  with  two  side  pieces  to  match, 
which  had  been  affixed  to  the  belt.  The  three  were 
inlaid  with  garnet,  in  one  sidepiece  forming  a  cross. 
It  is  distinctly  non-Egyptian,  and  has  been  identified 
as  resembling  such  work  in  the  region  of  the  Danube, 
and  in  this  respect  has  an  important  bearing  upon 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  191 


the  identification  of  the  soldiers  who  had  been  buried 
here. 

Among  the  toilette  perquisites,  perhaps  the  most  Alabaster 
interesting  were  the  alabaster  ointment-boxes.  They 
were  all  found  in  the  space  left  at  the  head  of  the  boxes, 
grave  for  valuables,  and  beside  them  the  lids  and  small 
bronze  spoons.  The  latter  had  been  used  for  extracting 
the  ointment,  and  the  edges  of  the  boxes  were  some- 
times worn  by  them.  They  are  distinctly  of  Syrian 
make,  and  are  probably  the  nearest  yet  found  to  the 
alabaster  ointment-box  in  common  use  in  the  time  of 
Christ.  In  Mark  xiv.  3  it  is  said  that  Mary  broke 
the  alabaster  box  before  applying  the  ointment  to 
Jesus'  feet.  If  the  word  "  break "  is  to  be  taken 
literally,  that  would  be  almost  impossible  ;  and  it  seems 
unnecessary,  as  well  as  absurd,  that  she  should  have 
broken  it  and  allowed  the  pieces  to  get  mixed  with 
the  ointment,  as  would  be  unavoidable.  If  you  ask 
an  Arab  at  the  present  day  to  open  a  sealed  bottle 
or  vessel,  the  word  which  you  would  use  would  be  a 
part  of  the  Arabic  verb  "  to  break  "  ;  and  so  probably 
the  original  Aramaic  word  in  the  Gospel  was  a  part 
of  the  verb  to  break,  used  also  in  the  sense  of 
"  to  open,"  meaning  "  to  break  the  seal "  of  wax  or 
resin. 

The  mirrors  found  are  also  of  a  distinctly  foreign  Glass 
type.  They  are  made  of  stucco,  some  rosette-shaped, 
and  others  square,  with  a  triangular  piece  added  to 
one  side,  pierced  at  the  top  for  suspension.  In  the 
centre  of  each  was  embedded  a  circular  piece  of  thin 
glass  about  two  inches  in  diameter,  while  the  rest  of 
the  mirror  was  usually  decorated  with  crescent-shaped 


192    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


pieces  similarly  embedded.  In  one  mirror  these  pieces 
formed  a  Coptic  cross  at  the  top.  Their  interest  lies 
in  the  fact  that  these  are  the  earliest  specimens  of 
glass  mirrors  which  we  possess.  The  back  of  the  glass 
had  been  covered  simply  with  a  coat  of  black  colouring, 
silverising  being  as  yet  unknown.  The  Coptic  cross 
sufficiently  marks  them  as  belonging  to  Christians,  and 
the  other  things  found  with  them  prove  them  to  belong 
to  the  second  or  third  century  A.D. 

In  addition  to  the  beads  mentioned,  some  beautiful 
little  ivory  cups  were  found  in  the  same  burials  with 
the  alabaster  boxes.  Ivory  seems  to  have  been  ex- 
tensively used  among  the  wealthier  classes  in  the 
form  of  hairpins  and  other  essentials  of  a  lady's  toilette 
table.  These  small  cups,  chastely  carved  and  finished, 
with  neatly  fitting  lids,  had  probably  served  as  kohl- 
pots,  or  vases,  for  holding  the  eye-paint  in  common  use. 
Some  were  found  with  distinct  traces  of  the  colouring 
inside.  They  had  been  most  carefully  placed,  with 
the  alabasters  at  the  head,  in  a  layer  of  fine  sand, 
put  there  intentionally  to  preserve  them,  for  the  soil 
of  the  grave  was  the  ordinary  hard  black  mud.  Owing 
to  the  admixture  of  salt  in  the  sand,  however,  they 
had  become  so  soft  and  brittle  that  not  one  could 
be  secured  complete.  Had  we  had  a  supply  of  parafiin 
wax  to  melt  into  the  sand  around  them,  they  could 
have  been  removed  complete  in  a  solid  lump,  and  they 
would  have  well  repaid  the  trouble.  Unfortunately,  we 
were  not  supplied  with  this  essential,  and  we  could  not 
leave  them  overnight. 

3.  The  cemetery  belongs  to  the  period  when  bronze 
was  being  more  and  more  relegated  to  the  purposes 


ALABASTER  0I^"TME^•T-BOXES— EARLY  CHRLSTIAN,  C.  250  A.D. 


p.  192 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  193 


of  ornament,  and  iron  was  taking  its  place  for  the 
more  useful  and  practical  ends  of  life. 

In  the  series  of  burials  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Iron 
gebel,  which  are  afterwards  described  as  the  double- 
ledge  graves,  and  which  were  almost  entirely  the 
burials  of  men,  there  was  found  by  the  right  side  of 
each  man  an  iron  sword,  complete  or  in  part,  wrapped 
in  some  sort  of  cloth,  which  had  long  since  crumbled 
to  dust,  leaving  only  its  pattern  upon  the  rusted  iron, 
or  enclosed  in  a  wooden  scabbard,  the  fragments  of 
which  still  clung  to  the  iron.  They  were  mostly  the 
heavy  Eoman  sword,  about  two  and  a  half  feet  long, 
though  several  of  the  shorter  type  were  also  found. 
They  had  been  fitted  into  wooden  or  ivory  handles, 
but  only  one  specimen,  and  that  of  ivory,  remained. 
Usually  fragments  of  the  leather  belt  were  picked  up, 
with  the  buckle  attached. 

Of  these  iron  buckles  the  most  interesting  consisted  "Ring 
simply  of  a  ring  and  a  pin  of  iron.  They  are  of  large  Buckles, 
size,  and  closely  resemble  the  style  of  brooch  which 
used  to  be  worn  with  the  plaid  in  the  Scottish  High- 
lands. One  end  of  the  pin  was  sharpened,  while  the 
other  end  was  generally  flattened  and  bent  so  as  to  lie 
close  to  the  ring.  The  cloth  of  the  garment  was  drawn 
through  the  ring,  the  pin  then  pushed  through  the 
cloth,  and  the  cloth  again  drawn  back  flat.  This  type 
of  buckle  is  obviously  more  primitive  than  that  which 
was  common  among  Egyptians  at  this  date,  and  very 
likely  belonged  to  those  mercenaries  who,  as  we  shall 
see,  were  probably  the  Rhoetoi,  a  highland  tribe  from 
the  region  of  the  Danube. 

In  almost  every  burial  of  this  class  iron  nails  were  Nails. 
N 


194    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


found  in  large  quantities,  and  of  many  shapes.  In 
thickness  they  equal  the  strong  nails  used  in  boat- 
building now,  but  they  were  all  exceedingly  short, 
seldom  more  than  two  inches  long.  Some  had  cross-cut 
incisions  on  the  head,  but  no  screw  nail  was  found 
among  them.  All  had  wood  adhering  to  them.  No 
cofi&ns  had  been  used  in  these  graves,  so  that  these  nails 
must  have  belonged  to  a  box  or  chest  placed  at  the  feet 
of  the  dead,  for  the  nails  were  all  found  in  that  position ; 
and  these  chests  must  have  contained  the  treasure  which 
was  most  sought  after  by  the  spoilers  centuries  before, 
since  it  was  quite  noticeable  that,  even  where  valuable 
material  was  left  at  the  head,  only  fragments  of  wood 
were  found  at  the  feet  or  in  the  filling.  In  a  few  cases 
locks  and  keys  were  picked  up.  The  locks  are  made  of 
bronze  and  iron.  They  appear  to  have  frequently  used 
bronze  studs  for  bolting  iron. 

A  considerable  collection  of  daggers,  spear-heads, 
hooks,  and  pins  of  iron  was  obtained  here.  The 
knives,  or  daggers,  had  been  fitted  with  handles  of 
wood  or  ivory,  but  very  little  trace  of  the  latter 
remained. 

Inscribed  In  the  double-ledge  graves,  stones  of  every  kind  were 
Stones,  pi-essed  into  service,  to  be  laid  across  the  ledges  as  cover- 
ing between  the  body  and  the  filling.  Door  sockets, 
finely  cut  limestone  bricks,  rough  flat  slabs,  evidently 
sometimes  from  another  cemetery  or  a  town  ruin,  were 
thus  employed.  Amoag  these,  two  were  interesting  as 
bearing  inscriptions,  which  some  have  thought  were  in 
archaic  Greek,  but  which  Sir  W.  M.  Ramsay  regards  as 
specimens  of  the  rough  abbreviated  tomb  inscriptions  of 
the  Byzantine  period.      One  of  them  reads  :  "  Jesus 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  195 


Christ,  KiDg  of  Kings,"  but  the  other  is  so  worn  as  to 
be  unreadable. 

Originally  a  large  quantity  of  glass  vases  had  been  Roman 
buried  with  the  dead,  but,  though  we  occasionally  found 
fragments  sufficient  to  show  the  designs,  scarcely  one 
complete  vase  was  found. 


XIII 


TELL  YAHUD  THE  MOUND  OF  THE  JEW 

II.   BURIAL  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN 
CENTURIES 

The  care  of  the  dead  is  a  strongly  marked  feature  in 
every  period  of  Egyptian  history.  Even  the  poorest  of 
the  poor  seem  to  have  made  an  effort  to  decently  observe 
the  last  rites  of  burial,  and  to  deposit  something  with 
the  dead,  were  it  but  a  single  vase.  The  rich,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  extravagant  in  the  outfit  with  which 
they  provided  their  dead  for  use  in  the  next  world.  Not 
only  did  they  supply  them  with  food  and  drink,  clothing 
and  jewellery  of  the  richest  and  most  expensive  nature, 
but  with  servants  as  well,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  very 
richest,  with  furniture  such  as  few  could  afford  to  possess. 
The  tomb  itself  in  these  cases  was  an  item  of  tremendous 
cost,  comparatively  speaking,  frequently  cut  in  the  solid 
rock,  or,  as  iu  the  case  of  the  pyramids,  built  at  great 
expense.  In  the  matter  of  furnishing,  perhaps  the  tomb 
of  the  princess  discovered  two  or  three  years  ago  by  Mr 
Quibell  of  the  Cairo  Museum  marks  the  climax.  There 
the  furniture  was  on  a  luxurious  scale,  stands  unique 
among  discoveries  of  this  nature,  and  is  now  to  be  seen 
in  a  room  of  the  museum  in  Cairo,  arranged  as  it  was 
found  in  the  tomb. 

196 


PREHISTORIC  BURIAL — NAOADA 


p.  197 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  197 


The  use  of  soul-houses  is  another  phase  of  the  elabo- 
rate burial  arrangements  practised.  A  fine  collection  of 
these  was  found  in  some  well-preserved  burials  of  the 
twelfth  dynasty  last  winter  at  Abydos.  In  the  middle 
classes  we  find  the  same  pious  observance  of  all  the 
rites  of  burial ;  and  in  fact  we  may  give  it  as  a  general 
rule,  that  every  class  went  to  the  utmost  limit  of  its 
means  in  showing  respect  for  its  dead,  and  in  providing 
them  with  everything  deemed  necessary  for  their  future 
use,  according  to  their  rank  and  station  in  the  world 
before  death. 

The  cemetery  of  Tell  Yahud  had  belonged  to  the 
middle  and  poorer  classes,  and  a  portion  of  it  had  been 
set  apart  for  the  foreigners,  who  occupied  the  camp  as 
garrison. 

1.  In  all,  seven  different  classes  of  graves  were  found.  Types  of 
and  of  these  the  most  interesting  were  the  double-ledge 
graves.  These  were  cut  in  the  hard  black  "  teen,"  or  jedge 
mud,  of  the  gebel,  which  is  almost  as  hard  as  soft  lime-  Graves, 
stone.  The  grave  proper  was  a  narrow  space  in  the 
bottom,  just  wide  enough  to  admit  the  body.  On  each 
side  of  it  a  ledge  of  a  foot  in  width  was  left.  The  body 
had  been  placed  in  the  centre  space,  and  stones  then  laid 
across  the  ledges  before  the  filling  was  thrown  in. 
Where  the  earth  was  soft,  the  ledges  were  built  of 
brick.  The  average  measurements  were  eight  feet  long, 
seven  deep,  and  four  wide.  A  whole  series  of  these 
was  found  on  one  part,  and,  as  the  swords  and  other 
contents  show,  they  belonged  to  the  foreign  garrison 
employed  by  the  Romans.  Only  two  or  three  burials  of 
women  were  met  with,  and  at  first  it  looked  like  a  case 
of  separation  of  sexes  in  burial.    But  this  is  probably 


198    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


rather  a  confirmation  of  our  identification  of  them  as 
belonging  to  mercenaries,  who  would  not  be  likely  to 
have  brought  wives  with  them.  No  trace  of  a  coffin 
was  found  in  any,  the  only  wood  having  belonged  to  the 
chest  deposited  at  the  feet. 

In  No.  31  of  this  class  two  persons  had  been 
buried,  the  upper  resting  upon  the  stone  covering  of 
the  lower  burial.  The  stones  and  the  upper  body  had 
manifestly  been  disturbed.  They  lay  on  their  backs, 
with  their  hands  by  their  side,  and  the  feet  to  the 
east.  By  the  right  side  of  the  lower  body  half  of  an 
iron  sword,  and  near  by  nine  bronze  coins,  were  found. 
Seven  of  these  coius  bore  the  face  of  Constantino,  five 
the  youthful  face  and  two  the  face  at  least  of  middle 
age.  The  burials  must,  therefore,  date  after  350  A.D. 
The  upper  may  have  been  a  later  burial,  a  re-using  of 
an  old  grave,  but  that  is  not  likely ;  and  the  pottery  of 
the  filling,  together  with  the  evidence  of  similar  burials, 
points  to  quite  as  late  a  date.  From  beads  found  in 
the  upper  burial,  it  may  appear  that  this  had  been  of 
a  woman.  The  pottery  was  the  peg-bottomed  pots  of 
the  third  or  fourth  century  A.D.  This  class  of  pottery 
originally  had  long  pegs  for  standing  in  the  sand. 
Later,  the  peg  became  a  sort  of  rudimentary  appendage, 
the  relic  of  a  custom  they  were  loth  to  abandon. 
Finally,  the  peg  was  dwarfed,  and  ended  in  a  raised 
ring  for  keeping  the  water-carrier's  strap  in  place. 
Those  found  here  were  of  the  latest  type. 

In  No.  71  the  body  had  been  similarly  arranged, 
and  if  previously  rifled  the  stones  had  been  carefully 
replaced.  In  a  space  left  at  the  head,  and  thickly 
bedded  with  clean  sand,  were  found  the  alabaster  boxes, 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  199 


five  in  all,  two  small  bronze  spoons,  several  ivory  cups, 
a  string  of  large  ivory  beads,  and  a  large  shell.  By 
the  right  wrist  lay  twelve  scarabs,  and  a  number  of 
clumsy,  ill-shaped  beads  of  limestone.  Some  of  the 
scarabs  bore  the  cartouche  of  Thothmes  III.  of  the 
eighteenth  dynasty  (c.  1503-1449  B.C.),  but  were  pro- 
bably late  imitations  or  scarabs  re-used.  The  shell  had 
been  used  most  likely  for  mixing  eye-paint.  Evidently 
this  was  a  burial  of  a  woman  of  some  position,  the 
wife  of  an  officer  of  the  garrison  perhaps,  a  supposition 
which  is  confirmed  by  the  absence  of  sword,  knife,  or 
belt.  The  broken  pottery  found  in  the  filling  half  way 
down  was  of  the  class  of  Greek  buff-coloured  amphorse, 
with  Greek  inscriptions  on  the  shoulder. 

No.  76  was  a  similar  burial,  and  had  been  partially 
rifled.  The  ivory  cups  and  hairpins  at  the  head  were 
badly  broken.  One  bronze  spoon,  several  bronze  rings 
and  bracelets,  and  beads  of  many  varieties  were  found, 
but  the  beads  were  so  mixed  up  that  it  was  impossible 
to  get  any  clue  as  to  their  original  arrangement.  The 
pottery  was  completely  smashed,  but  had  been  of  a 
superior  quality,  and  many  painted  sherds  were  picked 
out  of  the  filling.  There  had  also  been  a  profusion  of 
Roman  glass  vases,  and  the  head  of  a  terra-cotta  female 
figure  was  found,  all  having  been  broken  before  our 
men  opened  the  grave. 

In  every  burial  of  this  class  the  body  had  been 
elaborately  swathed  in  cloth,  every  limb  being  sepa- 
rately wrapped.  The  articles  buried  had  also  been 
carefully  wrapped  to  preserve  them  from  the  damp, 
and  the  knives,  swords,  and  even  the  ivories  and  ala- 
basters, showed  traces  of  the  cloth. 


200    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Brick-  2.  In  the  brick-arched  graves  the  ledges  were  built 
Graves  brick,  and  instead  of  the  stone  covering  a  brick- 
arched  vault  was  built  over  the  body,  and  the  grave 
then  filled  up.  In  some  the  interior  was  entirely 
plastered,  in  many  only  a  space  of  twenty  inches  deep, 
where  the  body  lay,  was  covered  with  white,  blue,  or 
pink  plaster. 

No.  5  of  this  type  was  built  over  one  of  the  previous 
class,  so  that  this  is  probably  the  later  mode  of  burial 
of  the  two. 

No.  198  contained  two  stucco  glass  mirrors  at  the 
head,  with  pieces  of  glass  that  had  belonged  to  another, 
showing  the  black  colouring  on  the  back ;  bronze  hair- 
pins under  the  head  ;  and  silver  ear-rings,  with  gold 
pendants,  at  the  ears.  At  the  neck  a  quantity  of  beads, 
and  at  the  wrists  bronze  bracelets  and  a  scarab,  were 
picked  up.  Fragments  of  a  Roman  glass  bottle  of  a 
very  pretty  design  were  found  in  the  filling.  The  body 
lay  in  the  usual  position. 

No.  200  contained  a  rosette-shaped  mirror,  a  quantity 
of  beads,  including  many  of  the  large  lozenge-shaped 
crystal  beads,  and  bronze  hairpins  at  the  head  and 
neck  ;  bronze  rings  at  the  fingers,  a  small  black  glass 
bottle,  and  a  small  rough  clay  jug. 

No.  475  had  been  covered  with  a  thin  layer  of  pink 
plaster  up  to  a  height  of  eighteen  inches.  It  was  evi- 
dently the  burial  of  a  young  girl  of  a  well-to-do  family. 
Gold  ear-rings  at  the  ears ;  carnelian,  onyx,  and  amber 
beads  at  the  neck  ;  bronze  bracelets  at  the  wrists  ;  and 
fragments  of  a  stucco  glass  mirror  were  found.  In  the 
space  at  the  head  lay  an  ivory  cup,  two  inches  high  with 
lid,  and  one  in  diameter  ;  ivory  hairpins  ;  an  ivory  kohl- 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  201 


tube,  decorated  with  concentric  circles  and  showing 
traces  of  the  eye-paint ;  and  a  small  alabaster  box, 
with  lid.  Two  small  scarabs  found  among  the  beads 
were  evidently  late  imitations,  and  bore  meaningless 
inscriptions. 

The  pottery  found  in  these  was  the  large  double- 
eared  buff  amphorae,  in  common  use  in  the  third  and 
fourth  centuries  A.D. 

No  trace  of  any  coffin  was  found,  and  though  the 
limbs  had  been  swathed,  they  were  not  so  elaborately 
wrapped.  It  appeared  rather  as  if  the  body  had  worn 
a  long  loose  robe,  and  this  would  confirm  the  opinion 
usually  held  that  robing  was  not  practised  till  Christian 
times.  The  contents  of  this  class,  with  the  exception 
of  the  glass  mirrors,  which  are  unique,  resemble  exactly 
the  things  found  in  Egyptian  burials  of  this  late-Roman 
period,  but  they  are  quite  distinct  in  character  from 
those  of  the  previous  class.  At  Saft  cemetery  the 
contents  of  the  late  portion  were  exactly  similar.  In 
the  double-ledge  burials  the  contents  show  at  once  that 
they  had  belonged  to  foreigners  sojourning  in  the  land. 

In  both  these  classes  also,  it  should  be  noted  that 
there  was  a  distinct  desire  to  keep  the  body  from 
coming  in  contact  with  the  filling. 

3.  A  very  common  type  of  grave  was  what  may  be  Side- 
termed  the  side-scoop,  found  also  at  Goshen.  An  Q°^^g 
ordinary  pit  of  the  usual  depth  and  size  served  as  a 
shaft,  but  the  grave  proper  was  simply  a  hole  scooped 
into  one  side,  usually  the  west,  at  the  bottom  of  the 
pit.  The  opening  was  walled  up  with  bricks  after  the 
burial,  and  the  pit  then  filled.  Occasionally  there  were 
holes  scooped  on  each  side,  and  bodies  buried  in  both. 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


These  were  invariably  poor  graves.  Nothing  was  found 
in  them.  They  were  cut  where  the  soil  was  soft  sand, 
and  may  have  been  used  on  the  score  of  cheapness. 
The  probability  is  that  they  are  degenerate  forms  of  the 
shaft  and  pit  tombs.  We  found  several  of  this  class  on 
the  western  edge  of  Goshen  cemetery,  and  there  the 
pit  led  down  to  a  side  chamber  of  considerable  size, 
which  contained  several  bodies,  but  in  no  case  was 
anything  found  buried  with  them.  No  trace  of  cotfin 
or  wrapping  was  found,  and  there  was  no  attempt  to 
Dust  to  keep  the  body  separate  from  the  soil.  This  is  the  only 
class  in  this  cemetery  where  the  principle  of  dust  to 
dust  in  the  literal  sense  prevailed.  The  bodies  lay 
with  feet  to  the  east.  It  is  quite  possible,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  these  are  early-Christian  burials,  which 
would  explain  the  absence  of  the  usual  concomitants 
of  Egyptian  burials. 
Double-       ^'  double-ziyeh  burials  two  large  pots,  three  to 

ziyeh  four  feet  in  length,  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  diameter  at 
Burials.  mouth,  and  fourteen  inches  at  the  bottom,  were  placed 
mouth  to  mouth  with  the  body  enclosed,  and  the 
earth  piled  over  them.  These  had  distinctly  not  been 
filled  with  sand  after  the  insertion  of  the  body.  They 
formed  a  cheap  imitation  of  the  fine  eighteenth- 
dynasty  slipper-shaped  coffins  (see  Goshen  cemetery),  but 
they  were  of  an  exceedingly  rough  make,  and  showed 
no  attempt  at  decoration.  Burials  of  this  class  were 
very  numerous,  and  were  entirely  confined  to  one 
portion  of  the  cemetery.  Two  such  burials  in  one 
square  pit  were  frequent.  Five  adjacent  pits  contained 
ten  of  these  coffins,  but  beyond  the  cloth  wrappings 
nothing  was  found,  though   the  usual  paraphernalia 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  m 


were  probably  buried  with  them,  as  at  Goshen  cemetery. 
In  every  case  the  pot  was  smashed  open  just  over 
the  face  of  the  dead,  and  from  the  opening  thus  made 
the  coffin  had  been  rifled  without  further  disturbance 
of  the  grave,  which  thus  shows  that  they  had  deposited 
any  valuables  at  the  head.  In  other  respects  the  same 
arrangements  were  observed  as  in  the  former  classes. 

5.  Another  modification  of  the  slipper-shaped  was  Slab- 
the  pottery  slab  coffin.  In  this  case  the  body  had  3°^^ 
been  placed  in  a  complete  coffin  of  red  fire-baked 
pottery  slabs,  nearly  two  inches  thick.  Where  found 
complete,  the  sides  of  these  consisted  of  four  separate 
slabs,  meeting  at  the  waist,  the  end  pieces  being 
attached  to  two  of  them,  while  the  bottom,  a  complete 
piece,  was  quite  separate  from  the  sides.  The  lid 
was  also  a  separate  slab,  and  usually  bore  the  face 
of  the  enclosed  dead  modelled  at  the  top,  with  the 
hands  in  relief  down  by  the  sides.  The  various  pieces 
had  been  cemented  with  mud  plaster  after  the  body 
was  inserted,  and  the  black  earth  was  then  packed 
hard  between  the  sides  of  the  coffin  and  of  the  pit. 

Sometimes  the  lid  and  sides  and  ends  were  made 
in  one  piece,  so  that  at  the  burial  the  body  was 
simply  laid  on  the  bottom,  which  was  in  position 
in  the  grave,  and  then  the  upper  part  of  the  coffin 
was  placed  over  it.  Inside  space  had  always  been 
left  at  the  head  for  the  things  buried,  and  we  found 
that  every  lid  had  been  smashed  open  with  a  pick 
just  over  the  face  as  before.  Everything  had  been 
carried  off.  These  coffins  mostly  contained  mummies, 
some  of  them  very  good  specimens,  and  evidently 
imitations  of  those  of  the  Ptolemaic  period,  if  they 


204    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


did  uot  actually  belong  to  that  date,  which  is  not 
likely,  but  others  were  of  very  poor  style. 

Often  two  and  three  such  cofifins  were  found  side  by 
side  in  the  same  pit.  No.  433  contained  three,  all 
mummies,  and  all  of  different  types.  The  coffin  on 
the  west  side  contained  a  mummy,  the  plaster  of 
which  was  beautifully  decorated  in  blue,  white,  and 
pink,  with  black  outlines,  the  face  being  done  in  gilt. 
In  the  centre  coffin  was  a  mummy  finished  in  plain 
white  plaster,  and  of  a  less  expensive  kind  ;  while  in 
the  third  it  was  impossible  to  say  whether  the  body 
had  been  partly  mummified,  or  not  mummified  at  all. 
Each  consisted  of  six  parts,  and  every  lid  was  broken 
over  the  face.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  three,  differing 
so  much  in  character,  were  contemporaneous  interments. 
The  pit  had  probably  had  a  shaft  entrance,  like  the 
chamber  tombs  at  Suwa,  at  one  side,  so  that  interments 
could  be  made  at  any  time.  The  best  mummy,  which 
bore  the  face  of  a  man,  had  been  the  first,  and  the 
middle  one  the  second  interment ;  and  perhaps  in  the 
degenerating  treatment  accorded  to  each  we  may  trace 
a  corresponding  falling  away  of  the  family's  fortunes. 
They  were  carefully  examined,  in  the  hope  that  papyrus 
manuscripts  might  have  been  used  in  the  mummy 
wrappings,  but  a  coarse  kind  of  linen  had  been  em- 
ployed, which  crumbled  away  into  black  dust  at  the 
least  touch.  Nothing  of  the  nature  of  jewellery  or 
toilette  requisites,  or  pottery,  was  found  in  any  of 
this  class. 

6.  A  few  pot-burials  of  children  were  found.  These 
are  of  the  same  nature  and  date  as  those  described  under 
Goshen  cemetery. 


DKGENERATE  SIJ I'PK H-SHA I'K D  (  OKFIXS,   C.   300  A.D. — HHEYTA 


I  liEHISTOlilC  Bri'JAI..    NAi.ADA     -HoWlNi,  >\VATH1NG 

p.  20-1 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  205 


The  body  invariably  lay  on  its  back,  with  the  feet  to  The 
east  or  south-east,  and  the  arms  down  by  the  sides.  In  tionof the 
the  prehistoric  burials  at  Nagada  the  body  was  almost  Body, 
invariably  on  its  right  side,  with  the  knees  bent  up 
towards  the  chin,  and  when  the  body  was  placed  in  a 
sun-dried  clay  cist  the  head  was  often  cut  off  and  placed 
between  the  knees  and  the  chin.  Other  evidences  of 
mutilation  were  also  found.  Here,  however,  as  at  Saft 
and  Suwa,  no  trace  of  such  arrangement  or  mutilation 
was  found.  It  was  common  to  find  in  a  woman's  grave  that 
her  infant  baby  had  been  laid  on  her  breast,  or  deposited 
in  a  small  hole  scooped  in  the  side  of  her  grave  a  little 
higher  up.  Except  in  the  double-ledge  graves,  double 
and  even  treble  interments  were  quite  usual,  but  in 
these  cases  the  grave  had  been  a  vault  with  a  roof 
built  above  the  ground  level  and  a  shaft  down  to  a 
side  door. 

As  regards  the  dressing  of  the  dead,  in  every  type  Swath- 
but  one  swathing  was  used,  and  every  limb  appeared  to  Rfbing. 
have  been  separately  sw^athed.  It  was  only  in  some  of 
the  later  burials,  which  we  regard  as  belonging  to 
Christians,  that  we  found  swathing  replaced  by  robing. 
And  this  coincides  with  what  Dr  Petrie  found  at  Hawara, 
viz.  that  the  practice  of  robing  the  dead  in  a  single 
garment  did  not  come  in  till  Christian  times. 

Tell  Yahud  has  been  identified  as  the  Vicus  Judaeorum  The 
of  the  Antonine  Itinerary,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  cation^of 
dispute  it.     The  town  belongs  to  the  class  of  which  the  Site, 
the  sand-girt  Hyksos  fort  at  Tell  el  Yahudiyeh  is 
perhaps  the  prototype,  and  the  fort  or  camp  at  Burru 
Yusef  (The  Pits  of  Joseph)  another  imitation.     It  must 
have  been  a  very  large  and  important  place  at  one  time, 


206    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


for  the  ruins  still  cover  a  considerable  area,  in  spite 
of  continual  denudation  by  Sabakhin.  That  it  was 
a  large  and  flourishing  town  in  Roman  times  is  testified 
by  the  great  quantities  of  potsherds  of  that  date  strewn 
on  the  surface,  as  well  as  buried  in  the  sand. 

The  contents  of  the  cemetery  bear  evidence  to  the 
same  fact.  It  is  very  likely,  however,  that  the  Eoman 
occupation  of  the  site  was  not  the  first.  There  is  no 
reason  why  this  may  not,  like  Burru  Yusef,  have  been  a 
fortified  store  city  as  early  as  the  eighteenth  or  nine- 
teenth dynasty,  if  not  earlier.  Of  that  there  is,  of 
course,  no  positive  proof.  It  is  with  the  Eoman  period 
that  we  are  concerned,  and  in  this  connection  the  name 
of  the  modern  village  "  Eheyta,"  built  partly  on  the 
site,  is  significant.  It  is  not  a  common  village  name  in 
Egypt,  and  we  know  how  much  they  are  given  to  using 
the  same  names  for  villages  in  different  districts. 

In  describing  the  burials  of  soldiers  we  have  already 
indicated  several  facts  which  point  to  their  having  been 
foreigners,  and  from  a  region  north  of  Italy.  The  swords 
and  buckles,  the  ring  and  pin  brooches,  the  buckle  with 
inlaid  garnet,  the  absence  of  burials  of  women  in  that 
part,  all  point  to  a  band  of  mercenaries  stationed  at  Tell 
Yahud  in  the  service  of  the  Eomans.  Now  in  the 
"  Notitia  Dignitatum,"  we  learn  that  at  the  place  Scense 
Veteranorum  (The  Tents  of  the  Veterans),  close  by,  the 
Eomans  had  a  garrison  stationed,  which  consisted  of  an 
Arab  tribe  called  Thamudeni  and  of  a  wing  of 
Rhcetians."  Naville  identified  Scense  Veteranorum 
with  Tell  el  Yahudiyeh,  but  neither  he  nor  Petrie 
found  any  soldier  burials  at  that  place.  There  is 
nothing    unlikely,  therefore,  in    assuming    that  the 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  207 


Khoetians  had  been  later  transferred  to  Yicus  Judse- 
orum  (Tell  Yahud),  and  had  remained  there  for  a  long 
time,  or  had,  many  of  them,  lost  their  lives  in  some 
insurrection,  which  would  account  for  the  large  number 
of  burials.  The  name  "  Eheyta  "  is  almost  certainly  a 
reminiscence  of  the  sojourn  of  the  Ehoetians  here — the 
"  rho "  asperate  of  Greek  being  represented  by  the 
Arabic  guttural  "  rhain." 

It  is  true  that  the  word  rheyta  "  means  "  fields  "  in 
Arabic,  but  nothing  is  more  common  in  the  adoption  of 
a  name  from  another  language  than  to  make  it  conform 
in  spelling  to  the  word  most  like  it  in  the  language 
adopting  it,  thus  giving  an  entirely  new  signification. 
The  word  Moses  in  Hebrew  means  "  drawn  out  of  the 
water,"  but  it  is  really  the  hieroglyphic  word  "  mesu," 
which  means  a  child,  adopted  into  Hebrew.  This  seems 
to  be  a  clear  case  of  tradition  preserving  for  us  a  historical 
fact  connected  with  the  place  by  the  name  of  the  place 
itself. 


XIV 


TELL  EL  YAHUDIYEH  THE  MOUND  OF  THE 

JEWISH  LADY 

I.  THE  MOUND  OF  ONAIAS  AND  THE  JEWISH  TEMPLE 

In  Isaiah  xix.  18-19  we  read  as  follows  : — "  In  that  day- 
shall  five  cities  in  the  land  of  Egypt  speak  the  language 
of  Canaan,  and  swear  to  the  Lord  of  hosts  :  one  shall 
be  called,  The  city  of  destruction  (or  *  the  city  of  the 
sun/  margin).  In  that  day  shall  there  be  an  altar  to 
the  Lord  in  the  midst  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  a  pillar 
at  the  border  thereof  to  the  Lord." 

There  is  in  this  passage  a  reference  either  to  a  pro- 
spective, or  to  an  actually  existing,  centre  of  the 
worship  of  Yahweh  in  Egypt,  and  hitherto  it  has  been 
held  to  refer  to  the  temple  built  by  the  high  priest 
Onaias  at  Leontopolis,  in  the  nome  of  Heliopolis,  the 
walled  mound  on  the  top  of  which  he  built  it  being  the 
"  pillar  "  mentioned  by  Isaiah.  The  account  given  by 
Josephus  is  that,  when  Antiochus  entered  Jerusalem  a 
conqueror  about  154  B.C.  and  deposed  the  then  high 
priest,  Onaias,  on  the  ground  of  disaffection,  a  nephew 
of  tha.t  high  priest,  also  named  Onaias,  seeing  all  chance 
of  his  inheritance  gone,  determined  to  migrate  to  Egypt, 
in  the  hope  of  greater  security,  and  with  the  express 
intention  it  would  seem,  of  founding  a  Jewish  settle- 

208 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  209 


ment  there.  Gathering  together  as  many  Jews  as  cared 
to  join  him,  he  came  to  the  ruins  of  Leontopolis,  the  city 
of  the  lion-headed  goddess  Bast,  and  on  the  border 
between  Syria  and  Goshen,  and  chose  it  as  the  place  of 
settlement.  In  the  letter  which  he  addressed  to  the 
reigning  Ptolemy,  and  which  is  probably  the  composition 
of  Josephus,  he  asks  this  site  that  he  might  build  on  it 
a  temple  to  Almighty  God,  like  to  the  temple  of 
Solomon,  to  be  a  centre  of  worship  for  all  the  Jews  in 
Egypt,  and  promises  to  raise  a  corps  of  mercenaries  to 
serve  Ptolemy  when  he  should  call  upon  them  if  his 
request  be  granted.  The  site  was  granted,  and  accord- 
ing to  Josephus  he  built  a  "  fortress  and  a  temple,"  not 
like  to  that  at  Jerusalem,  but  such  as  resembled  a  tower 
of  stone  sixty  cubits  high.  In  the  temple,  the  altar,  he 
says,  was  an  accurate  copy  of  that  at  Jerusalem,  but 
instead  of  the  seven-branched  golden  candlestick  Onaias 
placed  a  hanging  gold  lamp.  He  says  further,  that  the 
entire  temple  was  encompassed  with  a  wall  of  burnt 
brick,  though  it  had  gates  of  stone.  Such  is  briefly  the 
only  information  that  we  have  hitherto  possessed  of  this 
temple,  which  played  a  famous  part  in  the  religious  life 
of  the  East,  rivalling  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  in  the 
splendour  of  its  riches  ;  and  which  played  no  less  im- 
portant a  part  in  the  wars  of  that  period,  having  stood 
siege  probably  more  than  once,  as  we  can;  judge  by  the 
great  quantity  of  limestone  balista  balls  lying  around 
the  base  of  the  mound — a  fact  which  also  confirms 
Josephus'  statement,  that  Onaias  built  a  temple  which 
served  as  a  fortress  as  well.  For  225  years  this  temple 
retained  its  position,  but  was  finally  closed  by  order  of 
the  Emperor  Vespasian  in  71  A.D. 
o 


210    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


About  two  miles  from  the  railway  station  of  Shibin 
el  kanatir  is  the  mound  known  as  Tell  el  Yahudiyeh, 
the  mound  of  the  Jewish  lady.  Even  the  most  cursory 
examination  of  the  layers  discloses  the  fact  that  it  is 
artificial,  not  the  gradual  accumulation  of  town  deposit 
for  successive  centuries,  but  thrown  up  for  some  special 
purpose  and  within  a  very  limited  time,  for  the  pot- 
sherds on  the  top  and  through  all  its  layers  from  top  to 
bottom  belong  to  the  same  period,  viz.  the  second  or 
third  century  B.C.  The  discoveries  of  Dr  Flinders 
Petrie  here,  in  the  winter  of  1905,  leave  no  doubt 
that  this  was  the  mound  on  which  stood  the  fortress- 
temple  of  Onaias,  and  the  town  ruins  close  by  the 
remains  of  the  ancient  Leontopolis  ;  and,  indeed,  Dr 
Petrie's  working-out  of  this  site  is  not  only  convincing, 
but  is  a  marvel  of  successful  archaeological  induction. 

The  construction  of  the  mound  itself  suggests  the 
presence  of  foreigners.  When  the  Egyptians  raised 
such  earthworks  as  we  find  at  Daphnae  (Tahpanhes), 
another  border  fort  where  Jewish  princesses  also  sought 
refuge  (Jerem.  xliii.),  or  at  Pithom,  they  first  made  a 
cellular  network  of  intersecting  brick  walls  for  a 
foundation,  but  here  the  materials  are  thrown  down 
on  the  town  ruins  without  any  such  preparation.  At 
Passover  a  certain  level  in  the  mound  were  found  a  number 
ders^  of  large  earthenware  cylinders,  open  at  both  ends, 
blackened  inside  by  fire,  and  containing  white  ashes 
of  wood  mixed  with  earth  and  bones  of  lambs  in  the 
bottom.  They  were  usually  in  groups,  but  occasionally 
separate  cylinders  were  walled  round  with  bricks 
plastered  with  mud. 

The  presence  of  these  suggests  a  great  dedication 


I'ASSOVEH  CYLINDER- -BL  ILT  VP 


PASSOVKR  CYLINDER 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  211 


ceremony  in  the  form  of  a  passover  feast,  the  various 
tribes  having  sacrificed  together,  as  the  groups  of  urns 
show,  and  each  family  using  one  urn  and  "  one  lamb 
for  a  house"  (Exod.  xii.).  After  the  feast  they  had 
burned  the  bones,  or  "  whatever  was  left  of  it,"  with 
■fire,  and  finally  they  extinguished  the  flame  in  the  urn 
by  throwing  in  handfuls  of  earth,  which  may  be  a  trace 
of  the  Syrian  custom  of  burying  a  lamp  and  bowl  under 
the  foundation  of  a  building,  referred  to  under  Rameses. 
Each  urn  measured  twenty-five  inches  of  an  average 
diameter,  and  twenty-nine  inches  in  height.  The  fire 
had  been  lit  within  the  urn,  and  the  lamb  then  suspended 
over  the  fire  from  a  crossbar  at  the  top,  and  so  cooked. 
In  1887  Griffith  saw  a  double  row  of  these  urns  together, 
and  these  had  a  base  "  formed  of  two  or  three  slabs 
of  limestone  or  bricks."  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that 
in  the  course  of  the  work  the  date  for  the  celebration 
of  the  passover  came  round,  and  Jews  of  the  whole 
diaspora  in  Egypt  gathered  together  on  this  mound  and 
held  the  passover  in  honour  of  the  founding  of  the  new 
Jerusalem.  On  the  mound  was  picked  up  an  ostrakon 
inscribed  in  demotic,  with  the  name  Abram  on  it, 
preceded  by  the  foreign  determinative ;  and,  finally, 
that  Jews  did  live  here  is  proved  beyond  dispute  by 
the  number  of  Jewish  tombstones  found  by  Naville  in 
the  cemetery  close  by.  The  cemetery  alone  indicates 
the  presence  of  quite  a  wealthy  Jewish  community. 

In  other  respects  the  site  accords  with  our  data. 
Josephus  calls  the  place  Leontopolis,  which  means  the 
city  of  Bast  the  lion-headed.  While  the  Egyptians 
occupied  the  place.  Bast  had  been  the  chief  deity 
worshipped.    On  the  site  of  the  temple,  in  the  ruins 


212    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


of  the  old  town,  was  discovered  a  statue  of  Hor, 
admiral  of  the  Mediterranean  fleet,  of  the  twenty-sixth 
dynasty,  and  he  held  the  shrine  of  Bast  in  his  hands, 
so  that  this  town  was  evidently  a  city  of  Bast. 

Taking  the  stadium  at  500  cubits  (Petrie),  the 
distance  of  180  stadia  of  Josephus  between  Memphis 
and  Leontopolis  would  suit  this  site,  and  Dr  Petrie  also 
calculates  that  the  height  of  the  mound,  with  the 
buildings  upon  it,  would  have  made  one  great  wall-face 
of  at  least  59  cubits,  sufficient  to  justify  Josephus  in 
describing  it  as  like  to  a  tower  of  stone  60  cubits  high. 
Walls.  On  the  north  side  the  lower  tiers  of  a  massive  brick 
wall  run  along  the  whole  length  of  716  feet,  and  to 
this  wall  Josephus  probably  referred  when  he  said  the 
mound  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  burnt  brick,  for 
the  wall  has  been  burned  in  some  great  conflagration, 
perhaps  during  a  siege.  Burnt  brick  has  never  been 
known  to  be  used  in  building  in  Egypt  until  Roman 
times.  Josephus  had,  therefore,  seen  the  parts  that 
remained  after  the  destruction,  and  concluded  that  the 
wall  must  have  been  originally  of  burnt  brick. 

Along  the  eastern  face  an  immense  stone  wall  had 
been  built,  and  for  this  an  excellent  supply  of  stone  lay 
to  hand  in  the  wall  of  the  old  Hyksos  fort  across  the 
ravine.  Before  being  used  each  stone  received  a  deep 
bevel  round  the  edges,  which  has  made  this  wall  very 
closely  resemble  the  walls  excavated  around  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem.  No  such  deep  bevel  has  ever  been 
known  to  be  the  work  of  Egyptian  builders.  At  an 
early  date  the  stones  began  to  disappear  for  building 
purposes,  and  by  the  time  Josephus  saw  the  place  there 
may  have  been  very  little  trace  of  the  stone  wall  left 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  213 


above  gi'ound.  Of  the  walls  on  the  other  two  sides 
little  remained,  but  there  could  be  no  difficulty  in 
reconstructiDg  the  original  plan. 

There  had  been  two  approaches  to  the  temple  on  the  Ap- 
top  of  the  mound.  One,  a  sloping  pathway  on  the  P^*'^*^^^^. 
north-east  corner,  led  through  the  small  village,  which 
appeared  to  have  been  the  Levites'  place  of  abode,  for 
outside  of  it  was  found  a  considerable  quantity  of  the 
burnt  bones  of  the  animals  that  had  been  sacrificed  in 
the  temple.  The  other  approach  was  a  staircase, 
plastered  white,  on  the  eastern  slope  ;  and  this  corre- 
sponds with  the  staircase  which  formerly  led  up  to  Zion 
hill  from  the  valley  of  the  Kedron,  before  that  valley 
was  filled  up,  and  the  remains  of  which  Dr  Petrie 
excavated  in  1891  during  his  work  at  Jerusalem. 
This  staircase  of  Onaias'  temple  ran  straight  in  line 
with  the  main  street  of  the  old  Jewish  town  to  the 
east.  The  street  is  clearly  outlined  by  the  remains  of 
the  houses  on  each  side,  and  it  is  used  as  a  thorough- 
fare at  the  present  day.  The  stairway  was  composed 
of  two  parallel  brick  walls,  each  46  inches  thick  and 
79  inches  apart.  The  intervening  space  had  been 
filled  up  with  sand.  The  steps  had  been  of  wood,  as 
also  the  platform  at  the  top  between  the  stair  and  the 
gateway  of  the  temple,  for  no  trace  of  a  brick  platform 
was  left.  The  whole  had  passed  through  the  same 
conflagration,  as  the  bricks  sufficiently  showed. 

There  must  have  been  a  parapet  for  the  safety  of 
ascent,  so  that  it  is  calculated  that  the  staircase  stood 
up  clear  from  the  slope  of  the  mound  to  a  height  of 
seventeen  feet.  To  one  looking  from  the  far  end  of  the 
town  along  the  street  the  view  of  the  great  stone  tower. 


214    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


with  the  staircase  glittering  white  in  the  sun,  running 
up  the  slope  of  the  mound  to  the  gate  of  the  temple, 
which  fittingly  crowned  the  summit,  must  have  been 
very  imposing  indeed. 

As  for  the  temple  itself  nothing  remained  to  give  any 
idea  of  the  appearance  of  the  completed  buildings.  In 
fact,  all  that  could  be  done  was  to  trace  the  foundation 
walls,  and  perhaps  by  now  even  that  would  be  im- 
possible. As  reconstructed  by  Dr  Petrie,  from  these 
walls  it  would  appear  to  have  had  an  outer  and  an 
inner  court  of  about  equal  size,  and  the  holy  of  holies 
innermost  and  of  smaller  dimensions.  His  general 
conclusion  may  best  be  given  in  his  own  words  :  "  The 
plan  of  the  whole  hill  is  strikingly  modelled  on  that  of 
Jerusalem  ;  the  temple  had  inner  and  outer  courts  like 
that  of  Zion,  but  it  was  smaller  and  poorer  in  size ;  and 
while  the  hill  of  Jerusalem  was  natural,  and  the  temple 
was  built  on  the  top  of  the  rock,  here  the  artificial  hill 
had  to  be  revetted  with  a  great  stone  wall,  which  made 
the  temple  like  a  tower  sixty  cubits  high." 

At  the  head  of  the  stairway,  by  the  side  of  the 
entrance  of  the  temple,  the  foundation  walls  of  a  small 
square  fort  or  castle  were  traced,  a  further  reproduction 
of  the  temple  plan  of  Jerusalem.  It  is  obvious  that  a 
small  garrison  placed  here  would  quite  command  the 
whole  place.  The  stairway,  the  western  wall,  and  the 
courts  and  entrance  of  the  temple  would  all  be  at  their 
mercy. 

The  stone  wall  had  been  finished  with  a  sloping 
cornice  of  stone,  intended  evidently  to  throw  off  the 
rain.  This  is  interesting,  for  in  Egypt  such  a  pre- 
caution would  scarcely  be  deemed  necessary  by  builders 


HYKSOS  BUIUAL— AVAHIS 


p.  215 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  215 


familiar  with  the  climate,  so  that  it  is  a  safe  inference 
that  "  it  has  been  copied  from  some  original  in  the 
rainy  climate  of  Palestine." 

Very  few  objects  were  found  on  the  top  of  the  mound 
apart  from  the  architectural  remains.  A  clay  jar-seal, 
an  ear-ring  of  glass  beads  on  bronze  wire,  a  ram's  horn 
found  on  the  temple  platform,  and  the  inscribed  ostrakon 
complete  the  list.  The  latter  was  an  account  for  bricks 
supplied  by  two  men,  one  an  Egyptian  named  Harkheb, 
son  of  Zeho,  and  the  other  named  Abram,  evidently  a 
Jew.  Some  bronze  coins  were  also  found,  all  of  them 
belonging  to  the  Ptolemies  after  Philometor. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  here  we  have  got  the  justi- 
fication of  the  reference,  or  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy, 
of  Isaiah  xix.,  as  well  as  a  wonderful  confirmation  of  the 
statements  of  Josephus  in  detail.  It  has  not  been  the 
rule  to  place  much  reliance  on  his  statements,  and  there 
is  a  general  tendency  to  distrust  the  accuracy  of  details 
given  in  such  early  writings ;  but  again  and  again 
archaeological  discoveries  have  warned  us  of  the  rash- 
ness of  discrediting  our  authorities  without  possessing 
indisputable  evidence  of  their  erratic  tendencies.  In 
this  case,  we  may  say  that  the  accuracy  of  Josephus  has 
been  established  in  the  minutest  detail,  and  where 
there  is  any  divergence  the  probability  is  that  the  right 
is  with  him. 

The  mound  has  yielded  to  us  positive  information  of 
what  we  may  describe  as  an  early  Jewish  mission,  the 
Jewish  Church  following  after  its  emigrants  and  seeking 
to  provide  them  with  the  opportunity  of  worshipping 
after  the  manner  of  their  fathers — that  they  might  not 
lapse  into  heathenism.    If  this  is  what  Isaiah  referred 


216    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


to,  he  appears  to  have  hopefully  regarded  it  also  in  the 
light  of  a  foreign  mission  enterprise  ;  or  at  least  the 
hope,  that  some  day,  by  some  such  enterprise,  the 
worship  of  Yahweh  would  subdue  the  heathenism  in 
Egypt,  was  strong  in  him,  for  he  says  : 

"  He  shall  send  them  a  saviour,  and  a  great  one,  and 
he  shall  deliver  them.  And  the  Lord  shall  be  known 
to  Egypt,  and  the  Egyptians  shall  know  the  Lord  in 
that  day,  and  shall  do  sacrifice  and  oblation ;  yea, 
they  shall  vow  a  vow  unto  the  Lord,  and  perform  it " 
(Isa.  xix.  20-21).! 

^  As  a  priest,  familiar  with  the  prophet's  writings,  Onaias  may  have 
(as  it  were)  felt  himself  divinely  commissioned  to  fulfil  the  saying  of 
Isaiah. 


XV 


TELL  EL  YAHUDIYEH — THE  MOUND  OF  THE 
JEWISH  LADY 

II.    THE  HYKSOS  FORT  AVARIS 

The  interest  of  the  Bible  student  in  the  Hyksos,  or 
Shepherd  Kings  of  Egypt,  consists  in  their  supposed 
connection  with  the  early  history  of  the  Israelites 
through  Joseph.  Very  little  is  as  yet  known  of  them, 
perhaps  in  part  because  throughout  their  occupation  of 
Egypt  their  main  energies  were  devoted  to  the  con- 
solidation and  defence  of  their  conquest,  so  that  they 
had  no  leisure  to  build  monuments,  and  partly  also 
because  after  their  expulsion  the  Egyptians  made  haste 
to  obliterate  all  traces  of  their  presence.  They  are 
supposed  to  have  been  a  Semitic  people  from  Arabia 
or  the  south  of  Palestine.  Petrie  has  dated  their 
occupation  of  Egypt  from  2098  B.C.  to  1587  B.C.,  a 
period  of  511  years.  The  last  151  years  of  this  time 
was  practically  a  continuous  struggle  between  them  and 
the  Theban  dynasty,  and  ended  in  their  total  expulsion 
from  the  country  about  the  year  1587  B.C.;  but  they 
appear  to  have  originally  conquered  and  held  the  whole 
country,  north  and  south,  though  they  were  latterly 
confined  to  the  northern  portion.  It  was  only  during 
this  last  century  and  a  half  that  the  Theban  dynasty 

217 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


had  gradually  asserted  itself,  and  gained  strength  suffi- 
cient not  only  to  confine  them  to  the  Delta,  but  in  turn 
to  become  the  aggressors.  We  have  very  little  informa- 
tion regarding  the  long-continued  struggle.  As  we 
shall  see,  there  is  probably  a  reflection  of  it  in  the 
narrative  of  Joseph.  Manetho  (cf.  Josephus)  says  that 
a  long  and  mighty  war  was  carried  on  between  them, 
until  the  Hyksos,  or  Shepherds,  were  overcome  by  a 
king  of  the  southern  dynasty  named  Alisphragmouthosis, 
which  is  really  the  Greek  form  of  a  title  of  Aahmes, 
the  first  king  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  He  drove 
them  out  of  the  rest  of  Egypt,  and  hemmed  them  up 
in  a  place  which  was  called  Avaris,  a  fort  of  their  own. 
A  son  of  this  king  besieged  them,  and  they  voluntarily 
surrendered,  on  condition  that  they  should  be  allowed  to 
depart  from  the  country  unmolested,  whithersoever  they 
pleased.  They  left  Egypt  with  all  their  families  and 
effects,  numbering  240,000  people,  and  went  through 
the  desert  toward  Syria.  In  fear  of  the  Assyrians  they 
built  and  fortified  a  city  in  that  part  now  known  as 
Judaea,  and  named  it  Jerusalem.  Such  is  the  account 
of  Manetho. 

The  only  other  source  of  information  regarding  the 
struggle  is  the  tomb  of  the  admiral  Aahmes  at  El  Kab. 
He  tells  of  the  siege  and  capture  of  Avaris,  of  the  pursuit 
of  the  Hyksos  into  Southern  Syria,  of  the  siege  of 
Sharhana  (Sharuhen),  a  few  miles  south  of  Lachish,  in 
the  fifth  year  (i.e.  c.  1582  B.c),  and  how,  after  their  return, 
the  king  quelled  two  rebellions  of  the  Hyksos  remnant 
in  Egypt,  and  utterly  subdued  them.  In  substance 
the  hieroglyphic  account  of  Aahmes  agrees  with  that 
of  Manetho. 


p.  218 


PLASTERED  SLOPING  FACE  OF  HTKSOS  WALL 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  219 


The  shepherd  kings  are  charged  with  having  wrought 
considerable  havoc  among  the  monuments  and  temples 
during  their  rule,  so  much  so,  that  Queen  Hat-shep-sut 
(1516-1481  B.C.),  in  an  inscription  on  the  rock-cut 
temple  at  Beni-hasan,  describes  at  some  length  their 
injuries  to  the  country.  Despite  this,  however,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  this  invasion  had  great  effects  in 
changing  the  character  of  the  Egyptian  people,  and  to 
it  we  must  trace  the  beginning  of  the  Semitising  of 
Egypt.  When  Manetho  numbers  this  great  exodus  at 
a  quarter  of  a  million,  he  is  not  likely  to  be  guilty  of 
any  exaggeration.  No  smaller  number  of  people  could 
have  held  the  country  as  they  did,  and  such  an  exodus 
of  a  whole  race  from  the  land — which  they  had  con- 
quered and  governed  so  long — is  probably  unparalleled 
in  the  annals  of  the  world.  The  Semitising  of  the  race 
may  safely  be  dated  from  this  period,  for  there  must 
have  been  considerable  intermixture,  and  what  their  pre- 
sence began  was  further  extended  soon  after,  when  the 
conquests  of  Thothmes  III.  in  Asia  (1503-1449  B.C.) 
implanted  in  his  kingdom  the  customs,  ideas,  and 
manners  of  the  Syrians.  Thus  we  may  say  that  by 
the  time  of  the  Israelite  sojourn  Egypt  had  been 
practically  Semitised,  and  there  already  existed  a  strong 
racial  and  mental  affinity  between  the  inhabitants  of 
Syria  and  those  of  Egypt ;  and  that  this  affinity  deepened 
as  years  rolled  on  is  amply  borne  out  by  the  Old  Testa- 
ment records  themselves. 

Any  discovery,  therefore,  which  tends  to  throw  light 
on  so  interesting  a  page  of  history,  must  be  of  the 
utmost  value,  and  when  the  whole  history  of  the  Hyksos 
can  be  authentically  written,  it  will  materially  assist  us 


220    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


in  estimating  the  true  value  of  the  early  records  of  the 
Old  Testament. 

Some  additional  light  was  thrown  on  the  history  of 
this  people  by  Dr  Petrie's  discovery  of  this  very  fort 
Avaris  in  1905.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  walls  and  ruins  of 
this  fort  that  Onaias  laid  under  contribution  for  the 
building  of  his  fortress  and  temple ;  and  the  fort  once 
known  as  Avaris,  was  in  later  times  known  by  the  name 
Leontopolis.  It  had  originally  been  a  square  enclosure, 
each  side  measuring  roughly  500  yards,  and  the  walls 
were  not  of  the  usual  Egyptian  solid  brickwork,  but  of 
sand,  with  an  outside  sloping  face  sixty  feet  in  length. 
The  only  means  of  entrance  had  been  a  sloping  ascent 
200  feet  long,  and  at  a  later  date  this  had  been  flanked 
on  both  sides  with  a  strong  wall,  from  which  the 
defenders  could  harass  a  storming  party.  The  sloping 
face  of  the  wall  had  been  covered  all  over  with  a  layer 
of  white  plaster  about  one  quarter  of  an  inch  thick. 
The  whole  formation  points  to  a  people  who  were 
dependent  on  projectiles  in  warfare,  and  Petrie  con- 
cludes that  archery  was  the  type  of  fighting  employed 
by  the  earliest  settlers  here,  the  sloping  face  being 
intended  to  make  projectiles  glance  harmlessly  off  with 
an  upward  flight.  Experience,  however,  evidently  soon 
showed  them  that  their  barbarian  methods  of  warfare 
were  of  little  avail  against  the  people  among  whom  they 
had  come  to  settle,  and  in  a  few  generations  a  massive 
stone  wall  had  been  thrown  up  all  round  from  the 
bottom  of  the  plastered  slope,  while  the  space  between 
this  slope  and  the  finished  stone  wall  had  been  filled  in 
with  sand,  which  accounts  for  the  preservation  of  so 
much  of  the  plaster  intact.    The  remains  of  this  stone 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  221 


wall  Onaias  appropriated  for  the  eastern  side  of  the 
mound. 

Petrie  regards  this  as  a  camp  built  in  one  of  the 
earliest  invasions  of  the  Hyksos,  and  identifies  it  with 
the  ancient  Hat-uart,  which  was  later  known  as  Avaris. 
The  most  serious  difficulty  in  its  identification  is  the 
statement  of  Josephus,  that  it  was  garrisoned  by  240,000 
men,  and  covered  10,000  arouras,  which  would  mean  a 
camp  "nearly  3 J  miles  square." 

Regarding  the  later  history  of  the  place  only  a  few 
slight  indications  were  found.  A  dyad  of  Rameses  II. 
and  a  god  seated  side  by  side,  and  a  column  with  the 
names  of  Merenptah  inscribed  on  it,  point  to  a  temple 
founded  probably  by  the  former,  and  added  to  by 
the  latter  monarch  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty. 

Rameses  III.  of  the  twentieth  dynasty  cut  away  one 
Jbalf  of  the  original  fortification,  and  built  on  the  site 
his  beautiful  summer  palace,  part  of  which  was  still 
standing  twenty  years  ago,  though  all  that  now  remains 
of  it  are  a  few  of  the  alabaster  blocks,  with  which  the 
entrance  hall  was  paved. 

In  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty  there  must  still  have 
been  a  temple  here  to  Bast,  the  lion-headed  goddess,  as 
is  proved  by  the  statue  of  Hor  found  on  the  temple  site. 
The  inscription  on  this  statue  describes  Hor  as  "  Chief 
of  the  royal  fighting  ships  in  the  great  green  sea,  Hor, 
whose  good  name  is  Psamtek,  commander  of  the  lands 
of  the  Hanebu  (Greeks)."  This  sufficiently  shows  that 
he  was  admiral  of  the  Mediterranean  fleet  under 
Psamtek  of  the  twenty-six  dynasty.  The  statue  is  a 
kneeling  figure,  of  which  the  head  has  been  lost,  and 
in  the  hands  is  placed  the  shrine  of  the  goddess  Bast, 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


which  is  thus  evidence  indisputable  that  the  lion-headed 
goddess  was  worshipped  here,  and  confirms  the  identifi- 
cation of  the  site  as  the  Leontopolis  of  Onaias'  da^^ 

Five  graves  were  found  in  the  interior  of  the  camp, 
all  of  them  containing  scarabs  of  the  Hyksos  period, 
"  with  pottery  copied  from  the  earlier  Egyptian  types, 
and  imported  pottery  of  the  black  incised  ware." 
Others  within  the  camp  had  been  already  explored  by 
natives.  All  the  graves  found  within  the  camp,  and 
the  oldest  of  those  in  the  cemetery  to  the  east  of  the 
site,  Dr  Petrie  has  set  down  as  belonging  to  the 
period  of  the  H3'^ksos,  "  a  few  centuries  before  and 
after  2000  B.C." 


p.  222 


THE  LARGE  MOUND — BUKRL'  YUSEF 


XVI 


BURRU  YUSEF  THE  PITS  OF  JOSEPH 

A  STOREHOUSE  FORT  OF  THE  ISRAELITE  PERIOD  

FOUNTAIN  OF  HORUS 

Tell  Sharhanba — or,  as  the  natives  call  the  place, 
Burrn  Yusef,  the  pits  of  Joseph — is  situated  one 
hour's  walk  north-west  of  Belbeys,  surrounded  on  every 
side  by  cultivated  fields,  and  can  be  reached  only  by  a 
narrow  footpath  striking  off  the  railway  a  little  above 
Belbeys  station.  The  sole  means  of  conveyance  to  it  is 
by  donkey  or  camel.  A  situation  like  this  is  most  un- 
comfortable for  the  excavator.  The  modern  village  has 
no  bazaar,  and  is  otherwise  entirely  devoid  of  interest. 
Hemmed  in  on  every  side  by  cultivation,  we  here  missed 
the  freedom  and  exhilarating  atmosphere  of  the  desert 
sadly,  all  the  more  so  that  the  work  was  slow,  owing  to 
the  excessive  hardness  of  the  ground.  Though  only  four 
miles  from  Belbeys,  the  place  is  quite  a  generation 
behind  it  in  every  way.  The  people  are  just  out  of  the 
run  of  the  tourists,  and  having  never  brushed  against 
Europeans,  are  inclined  to  look  upon  them  with  some- 
thing of  the  old  fanatical  suspicion  which  we  find  so 
strong  still  in  the  interior  of  Babylonia.  They  main- 
tained the  attitude  of  suspicious  reserve  throughout  our 
stay,  except  on  the  occasion  of  some  great  religious 

223 


224     THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


festival,  when  both  old  and  young  manifested  a  desire 
to  be  on  friendly  terms,  shaking  hands  effusively  when 
they  met  us,  and  inviting  us  to  their  music  and  feasting 
in  the  evening. 

Like  Tell  Yahud,  this  is  the  remains  of  a  sand-walled 
fort,  built  probably  after  the  model  of  the  Hyksos  fort 
at  Shibin,  but  at  a  much  later  date.  The  highest  point 
of  the  sand  still  standing  is  thirty  to  forty  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  fields,  and  on  the  top  of  this  workmen 
are  continually  grubbing  and  carrying  away  the  sand 
for  building  purposes  or  for  sabakh.  From  the  villages 
around,  a  constant  stream  of  donkeys  and  camels  with 
panniers  keeps  going  to  and  fro  on  the  same  errand. 
This  has  been  going  on  for  many  centuries,  so  that  it  is 
not  surprising  that  in  many  places  the  sand  has  entirely 
disappeared,  and  soon  there  will  be  no  evidence  left  to 
show  that  this  was  a  strongly  fortified  place  in  Roman 
times.  Where  the  sand  came  from  originally  it  is  difiS- 
cult  to  say,  but  as  it  must  have  been  got  close  by,  it  is 
plain  that  when  the  place  was  fortified  with  sand  walls 
the  land  around  was  not  cultivated  as  it  is  now.  This 
would  be  another  confirmation  of  Merenptah's  descrip- 
tion of  the  country  round  Belbeys,  that  it  was  marshy, 
uncultivated,  and  left  for  pasture  to  flocks.  It  is  quite 
likely  that  the  desert  came  close  up  to  it  then,  though 
it  has  since  receded  so  far  through  the  inroads  made 
upon  it  by  cultivation  and  irrigation. 

The  first  few  days'  work  sufficiently  proved  that  the 
place  had  been  previously  fortified  with  massive  brick 
walls,  and  the  sand  walls  traversed  these  without  the 
slightest  attempt  being  made  to  use  them  as  retaining 
walls.     The  sloping  sand  had  been  faced  with  a  heavy 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  m 


coating  of  the  ordinary  black  "  tin  "  (teen),  or  mud,  re- 
markable for  its  adhesiveness  and  hardness  when  dry, 
and  a  retaining  wall  had  been  built  inside  to  keep  it  in 
place.  In  this  respect  it  resembled  the  fort  of  the 
Hyksos,  that  it  had  a  sloping  face  outside  and  a  per- 
pendicular wall  inside,  though  it  can  hardly  have  been 
designed  for  a  bow  and  arrow  warfare.  Below  the  sand, 
at  various  points,  we  found  not  only  the  old  brick  wall 
embedded,  but  also  the  walls  of  many  ruined  houses 
and  accumulated  layers  of  town  rubbish,  so  that  we 
were  left  in  no  doubt  as  to  the  relative  dates  of  the  two 
walls.  The  sand  wall  is  undoubtedly  the  later,  and 
belongs  to  the  same  period  as  Rheyta,  a  late-Eoman 
period. 

The  massive  brick  wall  is  much  earlier.  At  the 
western  corner  the  whole  mass  remains  almost  intact  to 
a  height  of  fifty  feet  or  more.  It  must  have  been  in- 
corporated with  the  sand  fortification,  and  it  is  now  a 
Moslem  cemetery,  covered  on  the  top  with  the  tombs  of 
a  great  Sheykh  and  some  other  benefactors  of  the  race. 
The  sanctity  thus  conferred  upon  it  has  been  largely 
the  means  of  its  preservation.  The  excitement  was 
great  when  our  men  set  to  work  to  examine  the  western 
facing  of  this  corner.  Deputation  after  deputation  of 
men  and  women  interviewed  us  on  the  matter,  thinking 
we  intended  to  undermine  the  venerated  Sheykh.  The 
language  of  the  women  especially,  who  came  to  abuse 
our  men,  will  scarcely  bear  repetition,  but  they  submitted 
to  it  all  with  stolid  indifference,  knowing  that  their 
real  motive  was  the  desire  for  bakshish,  and  that  we 
had  already  arranged  the  matter  with  the  Omdeh  of 
the  village, 
p 


226    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


The  wall  here  was  thirty-three  feet  thick,  and 
strengthened  on  the  outside  by  a  powerful  sloping  face 
of  heavy  black  mud,  resting  on  a  base  of  fifteen  to  twenty 
feet  in  breadth,  and  reaching  almost  to  the  top. 

Between  the  Avest  and  the  south  corners  of  the  fort 
the  brick  wall  had  entirely  disappeared,  but  we  picked 
it  up  again  at  the  south  corner,  and  so  right  on  to  the 
east,  where  it  still  stood  to  a  considerable  height, 
embedded  in  the  sand.  From  the  east,  half  way  to 
the  northern  corner,  it  was  easily  traced  under  the 
sand.  Here  it  ended  in  a  gate,  and  from  this  point 
not  the  slightest  trace  of  it  could  be  found  again. 
From  the  northern  to  the  western  corner  nothing  could 
be  seen  of  it  except  a  strong  foundation  of  the  heavy 
black  mud.  About  four-fifths  of  the  wall  was,  therefore, 
traced  for  certain.  The  complete  disappearance  of  it 
between  the  west  and  south,  and  between  the  west 
and  north,  indicates  that  during  a  siege  it  had  been 
attacked  mainly  on  these  sides,  and  completely  razed 
to  the  ground.  The  probable  reconstruction  of  the 
history  of  the  place  is  as  follows.  The  older  town 
was  a  fortress  built,  or  an  older  place  fortified,  during 
the  period  of  unrest  succeeding  the  expulsion  of  the 
Shepherd  kings.  It  was  only  during  the  first  five 
years  of  the  first  king  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty 
(Aahmes,  1587-1562  B.C.)  that  they  were  successfully 
driven  out,  though  the  struggle  had  been  going  on 
practically  for  151  years.  The  scene  of  the  final 
conflict  was  mainly  the  district  from  On  to  Bubastis, 
including  Goshen,  the  region  which  commanded  the 
way  of  retreat  to  Syria  or  Arabia.  Our  interest  in 
the  conflict  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  must  have 


THE  ANCIENT  BRICK  WALL  — BURRU  YUSEF 


p.  227 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  227 


been  under  one  of  the  last  of  the  Shepherd  kings, 
that  Joseph  served  first  as  slave,  and  latterly  as 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer.  Their  expulsion  is 
regarded  as  the  explanation  of  Exod.  i.  8  :  "  Now 
there  arose  a  new  king  which  knew  not  Joseph,"  and 
the  coming  of  the  eighteenth -dynasty  conquerors,  as 
explanatory  of  the  change  in  the  condition  of  the 
Israelites  from  privileged  liberty  to  down-trodden 
slavery. 

It  is  probable,  also,  that  we  find  a  reflection  of  this 
protracted  conflict  in  the  narrative  of  Pharaoh's  dream 
interpreted  by  Joseph.  The  dream  he  interpreted  as 
foreshadowing  seven  years  of  abundance  followed  by 
seven  years  of  famine,  against  which  he  advised 
Pharaoh  to  prepare  by  the  storing  up  of  grain  in  store- 
house forts.  The  number  seven  is  probably  used  here 
with  the  usual  signification  of  an  indefinite  period, 
like  our  term  "  several."  Now,  the  important  question 
here  is,  what  would  be  likely  to  cause  a  famine  for 
several  successive  years  ?  Only  two  explanations  are 
possible.  The  first  possibility  is  that  for  several  years 
in  succession  the  Nile  inundation  failed,  but  though 
several  instances  of  this  are  recorded,  there  is  not 
one  known  which  can  be  with  certainty  assigned  to 
this  period,  or  which  satisfies  the  conditions.  The 
other  possible  explanation  is,  that  here  we  have  a 
foreshadowing  of  the  policy  of  the  Hyksos  kings  to 
meet  the  attacks  of  the  Southern  dynasty,  which  was 
now  pressing  them  more  and  more  severely  every 
year.  The  dream  would  thus  be  an  allegorical  way 
of  expressing  the  political  situation  at  the  time,  and 
the  famine,  which  actually  came,  was  the  dearth  caused 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


by  the  devastation  and  plunder  of  the  hostile  army. 
So  that  Joseph  was  really  outlining  a  policy,  and  a 
wise  one,  for  the  storm  and  stress  which,  as  a  skilful 
steersman  he  foresaw,  the  ship  of  the  State  would  soon 
have  to  weather.  He  advised  the  immediate  erection 
of  fortified  storehouses,  and  the  appointment  of  a  man, 
"  discreet  and  wise,"  to  take  charge  of  them.  These 
would  not  only  ensure  a  supply  of  food,  but  would  be 
secure  bases  for  them  to  fall  back  on  in  emergency. 
The  same  policy  was  continued  in  the  Delta,  after 
their  expulsion  by  their  conquerors,  to  prevent  the 
recurrence  of  a  similar  successful  inroad  from  the 
east.  Pithom,  Rameses,  and  Tahpanhes  (Daphnae)  are 
examples  in  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties. 
Had  we  been  able  to  assign  the  earlier  date  to  the 
sand  wall  at  Burru-Yusef,  we  should  have  felt  that 
this  was  a  Hyksos  fort  like  that  at  Shibin.  As  it 
stands,  it  had  originally  been  a  fort  built  after  the 
expulsion  of  the  Hyksos,  and  at  what  period  it  had 
stood  siege  and  been  destroyed  it  is  impossible  to  say. 

An  objection  may  be  raised  that  this  famine  spread 
also  to  Canaan,  but  Jacob  was  not  the  first  to  send  to 
Egypt  for  corn.  Abraham  had  a  similar  experience 
(Gen.  xii.  10),  and  scarcity  of  grain  was  the  rule  rather 
than  the  exception  in  Palestine,  for  it  has  never  been  a 
grain-producing  country,  least  of  all  at  this  early  period, 
when  there  appears  to  have  been  no  security  of  tenure, 
and  little  or  nothing  done  in  the  way  of  cultivation,  but 
every  sheep  owner  allowed  his  sheep  to  wander  all  over 
the  land  wherever  pasture  w^as  to  be  found.  While 
Jacob  remained  at  Shechem  his  sons  were  as  far  north 
as  Doth  an,  seeking  pasture  in  the  highlands.  Further- 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  m 


more,  the  narrative  of  Genesis  itself  supplies  us  with  a 
sufficient  explanation  of  the  possibility  of  famine  there 
at  any  time.  The  country  seems  to  have  been  pretty 
much  at  the  mercy  of  every  marauding  tribe  in  the 
neighbourhood.  One  of  the  first  things  which  Abraham 
did  after  returning  from  Egypt,  was  to  rout  one  of  these 
robber  bands,  who  had  scoured  the  land  from  north  to 
south,  and  carried  away  prisoner  Lot  with  all  his  be- 
longings ;  and  the  ringleader  of  these  confederate  Sheykhs 
was  Chedor-laomer  (Kudur-lagumar),  King  of  Elam 
(Gen.  xiv.).  Apart  from  this,  however,  the  narrative  of 
Jacob's  sons'  journey  to  Egypt  is  the  picture  of  an  in- 
cident of  most  ordinary  occurrence.  From  the  earliest 
times  Egypt  has  been  a  great  corn-exporting  country, 
and  the  road  between  Syria  and  Egypt  was  rarely  with- 
out its  train  of  corn-laden  donkeys.  Palestine,  Syria, 
Cyprus,  and  probably  Asia  Minor,  if  not  Greece,  were 
all  in  the  habit  of  buying  corn  in  Egypt  at  a  very  early 
date,  and  in  later  years  Egypt  became  a  regular  Roman 
granary. 

There  is  little  doubt,  therefore,  that  these  storehouses 
(Gen.  xli.  56),  which  Joseph  caused  to  be  built  in  the 
cities  (Gen.  xli.  35),  were  at  the  same  time  forts,  or  in- 
cluded in  forts,  and  this  has  invariably  proved  the  case 
wherever  granaries  have  been  unearthed.  The  granary 
itself  is  generally  built  on  to  the  wall,  so  as  to  form  a 
buttress  on  the  inside. 

The  original  brick- walled  fort,  now  known  as  Tell 
Sharhanba,  was  for  certain  occupied  from  the  nineteenth 
down  to  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty,  the  materials  found 
pointing  to  this  conclusion,  but  there  is  every  likelihood 
that  it  dates  from  a  still  earlier  period.    The  inscription 


230    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


on  the  nineteenth -dynasty  alabaster  vase  found  here 
reads :  "  The  singer  of  Amen-ra,  King  of  the  Gods, 
the  praiser  of  (the  temple  in)  the  Fountain  of  Horus, 
Taitha,"  so  that  the  original  name  of  this  fortress  in 
hieroglyphics  seems  to  have  been  the  "  Fountain  of 
Horus,"  akin  to  the  ancient  name  of  Goshen,  Water  of 
Ra."  It  was  a  five-sided  enclosure,  having  its  corners 
south,  south-east,  east,  north,  and  west.  Each  corner 
was  specially  fortified,  and  the  strongest  defence  was  on 
the  south  to  east  side,  just  where  the  attack  was  most 
likely  to  come  from.  Judging  by  the  present  height  of 
the  western  corner,  the  walls  must  have  been  forty  to 
fifty  feet  high.  One  gate  was  midway  between  the  east 
and  north,  another  close  to  the  west,  and  there  may 
have  been  another  between  the  west  and  south  corners, 
but  there  was  none  on  the  south  side.  After  its  de- 
■  struction  by  siege  the  place  may  have  been  long  un- 
occupied. It  was  next  fortified  by  the  Romans,  it 
seems,  and  the  sand  walls  are  the  remains  of  their  work, 
which  is  of  the  same  type  as  their  fortification  of  Tell 
Yahud  (Rheyta). 

In  the  interior,  the  walls  of  houses  and  the  lines  of 
streets  are  easily  traceable  still,  but  excavations  yielded 
little  of  any  importance.  No  trace  of  a  temple  could 
be  found. 

The  For  some  time  every  effort  to  discover  the  store- 

ries^^  houses,  which  have  given  the  name  "  Burru  Yusef"  to 
the  place,  failed.  When,  however,  the  surface  rubbish 
had  been  cleared  away,  I  was  struck  with  the  configu- 
ration of  some  circular  mounds  near  the  western  gate, 
and  putting  a  safe  man  on  them,  found  him  soon  after- 
wards going  down  into  a  circular  chamber  of  consider- 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  231 


able  size.  The  men  suggested  that  it  had  been  a  brick 
kiln,  but  as  there  was  no  trace  of  burning  on  the  sides, 
nor  any  burnt  bricks  in  the  filling,  that  was  clearly 
impossible.  The  mound  next  to  this  contained  a  similar 
chamber,  and  later  on  other  four  were  cleared  to  some 
depth.  The  six  of  them  were  arranged  in  two  rows,  and 
imbedded  in  a  massive  brick  platform  seventy-five  feet 
square.  Each  measured  thirteen  feet  in  diameter,  and 
the  same  in  height  from  the  point  where  the  slope  of 
the  roof  began.  The  roofs  had  been  dome-shaped,  and 
as  they  stood  originally  these  six  roofs  would  have 
appeared  like  six  overgrown  bee-hives,  arranged  at  equal 
intervals  on  the  top  of  a  level  platform  fifteen  to  twenty 
feet  high.  In  each  roof  was  an  opening  by  which  alone 
it  could  be  filled  and  emptied,  and  the  chambers  were 
not  connected  with  each  other  by  doors.  On  the 
western  side  a  sloping  pathway  led  up  to  the  top  of 
the  platform,  by  which  the  grain  carriers  ascended. 
Nothing  was  found  in  them  which  would  give  a  satis- 
factory clue  to  their  date,  and  so  far  as  we  could  re- 
construct the  original  line  of  the  brick  wall,  the  granaries 
would  have  formed  a  sort  of  bastion  on  the  inner  side 
of  it. 

The  pottery  found  was  mainly  of  one  class.  A  big  Pottery, 
bulging  body  with  pointed  bottom,  shoulder  broad,  and 
neck  short,  and  wide  enough  just  to  admit  a  woman's 
hand.  They  were  found  of  all  sizes,  from  three  inches 
up  to  two  feet  in  height.  The  smaller  had  been 
ornaments  or  children's  toys.  We  found  many  of  the  same 
shape  later  on  at  Suwa,  belonging  to  the  twenty-sixth 
dynasty,  but  here  they  had  a  much  finer  surface  and 
better  finish,  and  date  about  the  twenty-second  dynasty 


2S2    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


(950-750  B.C.).  Another  class  of  very  thick  and  heavy 
small  vases,  with  long  necks  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
body,  a  ring  just  where  the  neck  joins  the  shoulder, 
large  enough  to  admit  the  thumb,  with  ring  bottoms, 
and  coloured  a  warm  terra-cotta,  were  evidently  drinking 
pots,  and  are  likely  of  Cypriote  origin. 

The  fine  piece  of  sculpture,  with  a  head  on  one  side 
and  a  full  length  figure  on  the  other,  was  found  in  the 
ruins  of  a  house,  and  had  been  a  trial-piece,  or  design, 
by  some  skilful  sculptor.  It  is  exceedingly  fine  work, 
and  probably  dates  back  to  the  nineteenth-dynasty 
times.  The  Oradeh  invited  us  one  day  to  his  house  to 
see  some  archaeological  treasure,  which  he  had  had 
brought  in  from  a  neighbouring  village.  It  was  a  block 
of  red  granite  about  two  feet  square,  inscribed  with  the 
name  of  Nekht-hor-heb  of  the  thirtieth  dynasty.  It 
may  have  come  from  Belbeys,  but  it  is  much  more 
likely  to  have  been  brought  in  from  Bubastis  (modern 
Zagazig),  near  by.  It  was  of  no  intrinsic  value,  and  the 
impossibility  of  locating  its  origin  robbed  it  of  any 
relative  value  which  it  might  have  possessed. 


XVII 


THE  DATE  OF  WRITING 
FRESH  LIGHT  FROM  RECENT  DISCOVERIES 

The  importance  of  this  problem  as  bearing  on  all 
criticism  of  the  literature  of  antiquity  is  self-evident. 
The  question  is  not  when  was  writing  first  used  for  the 
preservation  of  State  records  or  religious  annals.  What 
we  wish  rather  to  have  established  on  a  firm  basis 
of  evidence,  is  the  earliest  date  at  which  we  feel  assured 
that  handwriting  was  commonly  known  and  practised 
for  ordinary  purposes,  even  among  the  artizan  and 
poorer  classes  of  people.  When  we  find  a  date  at 
which  letter-writing  was  an  accomplishment  in  common 
practice,  or  at  which  ordinary  people  were  able  to  write 
down  a  record  of  their  personal  experiences,  it  will  be  a 
fair  inference  that  handwriting  was  pretty  widely 
practised  at  that  period. 

There  has  hitherto  been  a  decided  tendency  to 
assume  a  late  date,  and  on  this  assumption  part  at 
least  of  the  recent  destructive  criticism  is  apparently 
based.  To  be  told  that  a  writer  cannot  have  written 
the  book  which  bears  his  name,  because  handwriting 
was  not  practised  in  his  day,  is  an  objection  which 
compels  us  either  to  abandon  our  author  as  legendary, 
or  to  cast  ourselves  upon  the  mercies  of  oral  tradition, 

238 


234    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


if  we  are  to  preserve  even  the  shadow  of  a  real  existence 
for  him.  But  to  approach  a  book  purporting  to  belong 
to  antiquity,  with  the  knowledge  that  the  reputed 
author  ma}^  have  written  it  with  his  own  hand  at  the 
supposed  date,  is  to  approach  it  a.t  least  with  an  un- 
biased mind,  if  not  with  a  predisposition  to  a  belief  in 
its  authenticity,  until  internal  evidence  disprove  it. 

The  following  is  a  brief  statement  of  some  of  the 
evidence  on  this  subject,  gathered  from  a  portion  of  the 
field  of  antiquity  which  is  under  expert  archaeological 
survey  : — 

TheT.A.  1.  In  Egypt,  we  find  that  as  early  as  1385  B.C. 
Letters     1  •  *  • 

letter-writing  was  in  common  practice  among  govern- 
ment officials,  and  there  is  a  presumption  that  it  was 
practised  even  earlier  still.  The  now  well-known  Tell 
el  Amarna  Letters  are  the  correspondence  of  Egyptian 
allies  in  various  places  in  Syria,  embodying  reports  on 
the  conditions  of  the  various  dependencies  in  their 
several  districts.  They  belong  to  the  reigns  of 
Amenhotep  III.  and  Amenhotep  IV.  (Akhenaten)^ 
and  cover  a  period  from  about  1385  to  1865  B.C. 
They  are  written  in  cuneiform,  and  in  the  regular 
epistolary  style.  Two  facts  may  be  inferred  from 
these.  Cuneiform  must  have  been  well  known  in 
Syria  at  that  date,  and  in  Egypt,  if  it  was  not  generally 
known,  there  were  officials  at  the  Court  of  Pharaoh 
who  were  able  to  read  these  Letters  when  they  arrived. 
The  other  inference  is,  that  letter-writing  in  cuneiform 
on  clay  tablets  was  a  common  accomplishment  among 
the  various  rulers  of  Syrian  towns,  if  not  also  in  Egypt, 
at  the  same  time.  When  we  remember  the  Syrian 
origin  and   predilections  of  Akhenaten,  there  is  na 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF,  EGYPT  235 


difficulty  in  supposing  that  cuneiform,  the  official 
language  of  Syria  at  that  date,  as  it  appears,  would  be 
well  known  at  his  Court.  The  important  fact,  however, 
is  that  in  Syria,  170  years  before  the  Israelites  had  left 
Egypt,  handwriting  in  cuneiform  was  commonly  prac- 
tised for  the  purposes  of  epistolary  communication,  and 
the  tablet  found  by  Bliss  at  Lachish  would  point  to  its 
being  known  pretty  much  over  Palestine  as  well. 

2.  In  the  reign  of  Merenptah  of  the  nineteenth  Official 
dynasty  (1234-1214   B.C.),  who  is  regarded  as  the^g^J^^f 
Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus,  the  country  was  exceptionally  the  Nine- 
well  organised.    The  frontiers  were  guarded  by  strong  Dynasty, 
forts,  such  as  we  are  familiar  with  at  Daphnse  (Tah- 
panhes)  and  Pithom,  and  at  each  fort  a  responsible 
official  was  stationed,  whose  duty  it  was  to  report  in 
writing  the  fullest  details  of  everything  that  happened, 
and  of  every  person  that  passed  to  and   from  the 
country.     Thus  we  have  one  official  on  the  Sinai 
frontier  reporting  in  the  third  year  of  Merenptah,  that 
in  ten  days  eight  important  people  and  seven  official 
despatches  had   crossed    the  frontier ;   while  another 
reports,  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  same  reign,  that  he 
had  admitted  "'a  tribe  of  Shasu  (Bedawin)  from  Aduma 
(Etham)  through  the  fortress  of  Thuku  (Succoth),  to 
the  lakes  of  Pa-tum  (Pithom),  in  the  land  of  Succoth, 
to  feed  themselves  and  their  herds." 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  while  the  Israelites  were 
still  in  Egypt,  handwriting  was  practised  by  even  minor 
officials  of  the  Court,  and  letters  and  despatches  were 
passing  and  repassing  between  Syria  and  Egypt,  as  well 
as  between  the  Pharaoh  and  his  representatives  at  the 
various  forts. 


236    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


The  3.  The  papyrus  of  Unuamen  is  the  record  of  a 

Q^^nu-  joui'^^y  niade  by  that  officer,  about  1100  B.C.,  to 
amen,  Palestine,  to  fetch  cedar  logs  for  the  buildiug  of  a  boat 
B. the  god  Amen-ra.  It  is  a  long  document,  and  is 
a  valuable  mirror  of  the  life  of  the  time.  Though  some 
suggest  it  may  be  a  novel,  it  professes  to  be  a  diary  of 
events  that  happened  to  him  on  this  voyage.  He  came 
to  the  town  of  Dir,  in  the  region  of  Zakar,  where 
Badir,  the  chief,  detained  him  for  five  months,  neither 
supplying  the  logs  nor  allowing  him  an  interview. 
When  at  last  he  is  admitted  to  his  presence,  Badir 
demands  his  papers  to  prove  his  genuineness,  but  these 
he  had  unfortunately  left  with  the  Prince  of  Tanis  in 
the  Delta,  who  supplied  him  with  ships.  Badir  there- 
upon suggests  a  somewhat  novel  test  of  his  authenticity. 
He  offers  to  supply  the  logs,  but  to  rig  his  ships  so 
heavily,  that  if  a  storm  arise  they  will  unavoidably 
founder.  Then  if  Unuamen  is  really  in  the  employ 
of  Amen,  and  if  Amen  keeps  his  word,  he  will  chain 
Sutekh  (storm)  in  his  hour,  and  thereby  Badir  will 
know  that  he  has  had  a  genuine  commission  to  come 
on  this  "  cadging  voyage."  This  test  is  declined,  and 
a  messenger  is  despatched  to  Tanis,  who  returns  with 
the  necessary  proofs,  in  the  shape  of  "  four  vases  and 
a  basin  of  gold,  seven  vases  of  silver,  and  much  leather 
and  stuffs,  and  dried  fish."  Thereafter  the  work  pro- 
ceeds merrily  until  the  ships  are  laden  ready  to  start, 
when  suddenly  a  band  of  Zakru  (Cretan)  pirates,  who 
describe  themselves  somewhat  ironically  as  the 
"guardians  of  the  helpless,"  appear  on  the  scene,  and 
renew  the  troubles  of  Unuamen.  Badir  plays  the 
double  part,  sends  a  present  to  Unuamen  to  comfort 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  237 


him,  aud  arranges  with  the  pirates  to  pursue  him  after 
he  sends  him  away.  Unuamen  escapes,  and  is  cast 
upon  the  shores  of  Alasya  (North  Syria  or  Cyprus), 
where  he  is  roughly  dragged  into  the  presence  of 
Queen  Hataba  who,  however,  treats  him  kindly  on 
hearing  his  story.  There  he  rests  for  a  time,  and 
proceeds  to  Tyre,  whence  he  next  goes  to  Zakar-baal, 
King  of  Capuna  (Byblos),  but  is  in  turn  chased  from 
there.  The  whole  story  is  told  with  a  dash  of 
picturesqueness,  which  gives  it  an  interest  quite  apart 
from  its  historic  value.  Its  value  to  us,  however,  in 
this  connection,  is  the  proof  it  affords  of  the  fact,  that 
by  1100  B.C.  handwriting  was  so  commonly  practised 
as  to  be  used  not  only  in  the  writing  of  letters,  such  as 
Unuamen  wrote  for  the  messenger  to  the  Prince  of 
Tanis,  but  also  in  the  recording  of  each  day's  ex- 
periences in  the  form  of  a  diary.  If  we  assume  that 
the  papyrus  is  a  novel  and  not  a  diary,  its  evidence  is 
still  more  enhanced  in  value,  for  we  may  infer  that  a 
fictional  narrative  of  this  kind  would  not  be  prepared 
if  there  were  not  also  a  public  skilful  enough  to  read 
it.  A  further  point  of  value  in  the  story  is  the  fact, 
that  at  the  first  interview,  when  Unuamen  appealed  to 
Badir  to  supply  the  wood,  as  his  ancestors  had  done  to 
former  Pharaohs,  Badir  caused  the  ''journals  of  his 
ancestors "  to  be  brought  in  and  read  to  Unuamen, 
where  it  was  found  recorded  that  a  former  prince  of 
Egypt  had  paid  1000  deben  of  silver  (£400)  on  a 
similar  occasion.  Thus,  even  at  Dir,  in  the  district  of 
Zakar,  the  identification  of  which  places  does  not  seem 
to  be  fixed,  though  they  must  be  somewhere  on  the 
coast  of  Syria,  handwriting  was  also  in  common  use. 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OFpGYPT 


and  regular  journals  kept,  recording  the  dealings  of 
the  chiefs  with  their  neighbours.  At  the  period  of 
Unuamen's  visit  to  Dir,  the  Israelites  were  under  the 
government  of  the  Judges  (1097  B.C.). 
Hand-  4.  In  the  winter  of  1904-5  Dr  Petrie,  in  his  work 
Snait^^^^^  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  found  still  more  valuable 
Miners,  evidence  of  the  early  use  of  handwriting,  even  among 
B.c.^°°  the  poorer  classes,  for  ordinary  purposes.  The  turquoise 
mines  at  Serabit  were  worked  by  the  Egyptiaos  from 
the  eighteenth -dynasty  times,  and  every  year  an  official 
was  sent  from  Egypt  with  a  squad  of  Egyptian  mining 
engineers,  who  worked  the  mines  only  during  part  of 
the  year,  and  returned  home  after  burying  their  heavier 
tools  and  furnishings  under  the  floors  of  their  huts. 
But  the  natives  of  the  peninsula  were  also  largely 
employed,  and  these  common  workmen  erected  their 
own  statuettes  and  tablets  on  the  rocks,  engraving 
them  with  a  writing  of  their  own,  and  recording  facts 
which  they  wished  to  be  commemorated.  They  appear 
to  have  possessed  a  handwriting  which  is  neither 
Egyptian  nor  Phenician,  and  at  a  date  three  centuries 
before  the  recognised  date  of  the  Exodus,  i.e.  c.  1500 
B.C. 

The  rudeness  and  irregularity  of  these  inscriptions, 
says  Petrie  (Sinai),  shows  they  were  not  the  work  of 
trained  Egyptian  craftsmen.  Nor  can  this  writing  be 
regarded  as  the  exclusive  property  of  the  official  or 
educated  classes,  for  the  same  reason.  They  were  put 
there  by  men  who  could  not  command  the  abilities  of 
an  ordinary  Egyptian  craftsman ;  and  they  give  us 
positive  evidence,  that  in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai, 
three  hundred  years  before  the  Exodus,  there  were 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  m 


ordinary  working  miners  who  possessed  the  accom- 
plishment of  handwriting  in  an  alphabet  hitherto 
unknown. 

5.  Evidence  of  the  use  of  handwriting  at  a  date  Cretan 
prior  even  to  the  preceding  has  been  discovered  by  Mr  tSns"^" 
Arthur  J.  Evans  in  his  work  of  exploration  in  Crete.  1800-2000 

B  C 

At  Cnossos  "  ink-written  inscriptions  on  vases "  were 
found,  dating  as  early  as   1800-2000  B.C.  ;  and  Mr 
Evans  infers  from  this,  that  writings  on  papyrus  or 
other  perishable  materials  were  in  existence  at  that 
period   too,  since  ink   would  scarcely  be  made  and 
employed  merely  for  writing  on  terra-cotta  vases,  with- 
out the  possibility  of  using  it  on  other  material  being 
also  known.     The  practice  of  writing  on  ostraka  has 
persisted  throughout  the  whole  period  of  ancient  civilisa- 
tion.   Their  cheapness,  and  the  fact  that  broken  pieces 
of  pottery  would  always  be  lying  to  hand,  are  in  them- 
selves sufficient  explanation  of  the  persistency  of  the 
custom.    We  find  them  constantly  used  at  dates  long 
after  papyrus  was  employed.     The  fact  of  their  being 
used  very  extensively  at  any  period  of  a  nation's  history 
is,  therefore,  no  guarantee  that  they  were  being  em- 
ployed because  they  possessed  no  other  writing  material. 
But  even  if  we  think  Mr  Evans'  inference  of  the 
existence  of  papyrus,  and  its  employment  in  writing  at 
that  date,  hardly  justifiable,  he  has  none  the  less  given 
us  definite  corroborative  proof  of  the  use  of  handwriting 
in  the  east  of  the  Mediterranean  at  a  period  600  or 
800  years  prior  to  the  accepted  date  of  the  Exodus 
(1215  B.C.). 

There  is  a  tendency  to  assume  that  the  use  of 
writing  for  the  commemoration  of  important  events  on 


240    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


monuments,  or  steles,  is  in  the  natural  order  of  the 
development  of  civilisation  likely  to  precede  its  em- 
ployment for  literary  and  more  personal  purposes,  such 
as  the  writing  of  letters  or  diaries.  This  is  probably 
due  to  the  fact  that  we  possess  inscriptions  on  monu- 
ments of  a  much  earlier  date  than  any  writing  on  more 
perishable  material.  It  is  quite  possible,  however,  that 
the  natural  assumption  is  in  the  opposite  direction,  viz. 
that  handwriting  was  likely  to  be  in  common  use  for 
ordinary  purposes  before  ever  it  was  thought  of  employ- 
ing it  on  stone  or  other  imperishable  material.  But, 
whichever  preceded  the  other,  it  is  not  likely  that  any 
long  interval  existed  between  the  practice  of  writing  for 
the  recording  of  events  of  public  importance,  and  its 
employment  for  personal  purposes,  and  the  very  difficulty 
of  writing  upon  stone  would  speedily  lead  to  the  dis- 
covery of  some  softer  and  more  practicable  material.  It 
is  incredible,  that  with  civilisation  at  such  a  height  as 
we  find  it  on  the  shores  of  the  Levant  as  early  as 
1500  B.C.,  the  people  would  go  on  using  the  accom- 
plishment of  handwriting  merely  for  purely  public  or 
political  purposes,  or  for  records  on  temple  walls  and 
monuments,  and  never  dream  of  applying  it  to  the  pur- 
poses of  everyday  life.  In  the  order  of  development 
of  materials  used,  the  clay  tablet  seems  to  take  pre- 
cedence. The  potsherd  and  papyrus  seem  to  have 
existed  simultaneously  throughout,  though  the  use 
of  the  former  dates  prior  to  the  discovery  of  the 
latter. 

Assyrian  6.  To  all  these  points  of  evidence  we  may  add  the 
frora^^^  fact,  that  whole  libraries  of  clay  tablets,  with  and  with- 
3800  B.C.  out  baked  clay  envelopes,  have  been  found  in  temple 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  Ul 


sites  in  Babylonia,  written  in  the  cuneiform  language, 
and  dealing  with  almost  every  branch  of  learning. 
These  tablets  date  from  as  early  as  the  time  of  Naram- 
Sin,  who  is  understood  to  have  ruled  in  Babylonia  about 
3800  B.C.    At  what  period  the  cuneiform  language  and 
literature  began  to  be  known  on  the  coasts  of  the 
Levant,  we  do  not  know  for  certain  ;  but  the  Tell  el 
Amarna  Letters  prove  that  by  1500  or  1600  B.C.  both 
were  "known  and  studied  in  Egypt"  (Pinches),  and 
in  Syria  and  Palestine  as  well.    The  probability  is,  that 
they  were  known  and  used  there  at  a  still  earlier  date, 
especially  in  the  case  of  the  latter-mentioned  places, 
which  were  continually  coming  into  contact,  if  not  con- 
flict, with  the  Assyrians. 

We  are  thus  in  possession  of  definite  proofs  that 
handwriting  was  in  common  use  in  the  east  of  the 
Mediterranean  as  early  as  1800  B.C.,  and  the  several 
documents  adduced  show  that  it  was  quite  generally 
practised  for  all  the  ordinary  purposes  of  life  in  Egypt, 
Sinai,  Syria,  and  Palestine  before  the  Israelites  had  left 
Egypt,  as  well  as  during  their  occupation  of  Palestine 
under  the  Judges.  In  the  face  of  these  facts,  therefore, 
the  criticism  of  writings  belonging  to,  or  dealing  with, 
this  period  cannot  be  too  guarded. 

(a)  While  Merenptah,  their  last  oppressor,  was  having  Israelites' 
regular  communication  with  Syria  and  Palestine  through  ^ith 
his  officials,   the   Israelites,   we   presume,   were   still  Q^j'fg^^" 
sojourning  in  Egypt  in  the  condition  of  slaves,  as  it  is  tion. 
generally  stated.    The  Bible  itself,  however,  proves  that 
they  were  an  organised  people  under  the  control  of 
another  race,  and  still  enjoying  certain  privileges.  In 
Exodus  V.   15   we  learn   that  the  "  officers "  of  the 
Q 


242    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


children  of  Israel  came  and  cried  unto  Pharaoh,  saying, 
"  Wherefore  dealest  thou  thus  with  thy  servants?"  From 
this  passage  and  elsewhere  we  infer,  that  among  the 
Israelites  themselves  there  were  at  least  two  classes,  the 
ordinary  workman,  or  working  slave,  and  the  superin- 
tending officer,  or  overseer. 

(b)  When  we  consider  how  well  organised  in  every 
way  the  Government  of  Egypt  was  at  this  period,  we 
may  safely  infer  also  that  these  officers  of  the  children 
of  Israel  had  to  send  in  periodical  reports  of  the  work 
done  under  their  charge,  and  that,  where  oral  reports 
were  impossible  owing  to  distance  from  the  Court,  these 
reports  would  have  to  be  in  writing.  That  such  daily 
reports  were  made  to  the  taskmasters  set  over  them  by 
these  Israelite  officers  seems  proved  by  Exodus  v.  14, 
where  the  officers  are  beaten  because  the  men  under 
them  had  not  made  the  necessary  tale  of  bricks  for  the 
day.  When  the  work  was  at  a  distance  from  the  Court, 
as  in  the  case  of  Pithom  and  Rameses,  we  should  pro- 
bably assume  that  written  reports  of  the  progress  of  the 
work  would  be  sent  in  by  the  Egyptian  taskmasters, 
who  would  undoubtedly  accompany  them.  But  even  if 
we  cannot  credit  the  Israelite  officers  with  the  ability  to 
write  such  reports,  we  are  still  left  with  the  fact  that 
even  such  minor  officials  as  these  taskmasters  would  be 
skilled  enough  in  the  art  of  writing  to  do  so.  Nothing 
could  be  more  in  accordance  with  the  energetic  and  prac- 
tical character  of  Rameses  IT.,  or  Merenptah,  his  successor, 
than  that  they  should  demand  constant  information  as  to 
how  the  work,  in  which  they  were  so  deeply  interested, 
was  progressing  ;  and  if  the  governors  of  border  forts  of 
the  same  time  were  able  to  keep  their  royal  masters  so 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  US 


well  informed  of  current  events  in  their  various  posi- 
tions by  written  reports,  there  is  nothing  improbable 
in  assuming  that  other  minor  officials  were  able  to 
do  the  same.  In  the  face  of  this,  we  cannot  but 
assume  that  the  most  ordinary  Israelite  was  at  least 
familiar  with  the  practice  of  handwriting,  even  if 
he  did  not  himself  possess  it,  while  a  well-educated 
Israelite  may  be  presumed  to  have  himself  possessed 
the  accoinplishmeDt. 

(c)  Yet  another  inference  must  be  drawn  here. 
These  Israelites  were  evidently  admitted  to  very  close 
contact  with  that  wonderful  organism  of  bygone  days, 
the  Egyptian  Government  of  the  eighteenth  to  nine- 
teenth dynasties,  and  their  officers  had  been  allowed 
considerable  freedom  of  access  to  the  presence  of  the 
Pharaoh  himself  They  had  apparently  been  in  the 
habit  of  approaching  him  directly  in  any  difficulty  that 
arose  with  his  people,  which  is  quite  intelligible  in  the 
days  before  the  Pharaoh  arose  who  knew  not  Joseph  ; 
but  even  in  these  later  and  less  fortunate  times  they 
seem  to  have  done  the  same,  though  with  a  vastly 
different  result. 

All  this  goes  to  jDrove  that  the  Hebrews,  though  in 
the  position  of  slaves,  were,  at  least  the  better  class  of 
them,  in  direct  communication  with  the  Court  of 
Pharaoh  ;  and  all  of  them  must  have  been  familiar  with 
the  many  accomplishments,  whether  writing,  sculpture, 
or  painting,  practised  by  the  Egyptians  of  that  time. 
If,  therefore,  we  accept  Moses  as  a  historical  character, 
and  if  we  believe  the  account  of  Exodus  that  he  was 
brought  up  as  a  prince  of  the  house  of  Pharaoh,  it 
would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  he  was  unfamiliar 


244    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


with  such  accomplishments.  He  would  be  trained  in 
every  accomplishment  known  at  the  Court,  and  certainly 
in  those  which  the  Pharaoh  expected  even  his  minor 
officials  to  possess.  So  far  then  as  handwriting  is  con- 
cerned, there  is  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  accepting 
him  as  the  author  of  at  least  the  kernel  of  the  Penta- 
teuch. We  may  even  go  further  with  safety,  and 
assume  that  in  the  host  which  accompanied  him  out  of 
Egypt  there  were  bound  to  be  many  skilled  artisans,  and 
many  who  could  engrave  skilfully  upon  stone.  Accept- 
ing also  the  forty  years'  sojourn  in  the  wilderness  as 
Bedawin  as  historical,  it  is  quite  easy  to  see  how  these 
accomplishments  may  have  been  entirely  lost  to  the 
race,  where  there  was  neither  opportunity  to  practise 
them  nor  to  teach  them  to  the  rising  generation.  A 
nation  can  lose  a  good  deal  of  its  acquired  endowment, 
if  plunged  for  forty  years  into  surroundings  where  there 
is  no  occasion  to  make  use  of  it,  or  where  other  faculties 
are  rendered  more  essential  by  force  of  circumstances, 
though  it  may  not  lose  any  of  its  inherited  char- 
acteristics. By  the  narrative  itself,  there  were  at 
least  men  among  them  who  were  capable  of 
working  in  brass  and  gold,  of  moulding  and 
forming  a  calf  of  gold  from  the  women's  orna- 
ments, and  a  serpent  of  brass  (Exod.  xxxii.  and 
Num.  xxi.). 

Indeed,  in  view  of  all  that  we  know  of  that  period, 
we  may  accept  it  as  nothing  extraordinary  or  unlikely 
that  such  a  man  as  Moses  did  actually  exist,  that  he 
was  well  versed  in  all  Egyptian  learning  and  religious 
lore,  that  (accepting  the  Biblical  account  of  his  position 
and  education  as  fact)  he  may  very  well  have  been  the 


THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT  245 

originator  of  the  Old  Testament  code  of  morality,  that 
he  may  with  equal  probability  have  written  down  the 
kernel  of  it  with  his  own  hand,  and  that  it  was  to  some 
extent  the  outcome  of  his  Egyptian  education — to  what 
extent  remains  yet  to  be  demonstrated. 


THE  END 


INDEX 


Aahmes,  King,  30, 110,  218 
Aahmes,  Admiral,  30,  31,  218 
Abdi-taba,  Ebed-tob,  58  seq. 
Abd-milki,  46 
Abi-railki,  54,  55 
Adonis,  65 

Aduma,  Etham,  SO,  81,  112 
Akabah,  Gulf,  85 
Akhenaten,  42  et  alia 
Akhithabu,  Ahitub,  49 
Akka,  60,  66 
Alabaster,  191,  etc. 
Alashia,  Cyprus,  46,  64.  66,  237 
Ali  Marah,  137 

Amarna,  Tell  el,  Letters,  40  seq.,  234 
Amenhotep  II.,  39;  Amenhotep  ill.,  40, 
43,  234;  Amenhotep  IV.,  40,  42,  43,  234 

iZrrr'}^^'  ^^'^^"^ 

Ancestor-worship,  157, 158,  184 

Apophis,  Pharaoh  of  Joseph,  76  seq. 

Arabia,  nome,  107 

Aram-Naharaim,  44 

Asenath, 77 

Ashtarti,  49,  64 

Asqaluna,  46 

Assyrian,  ti.blets,  240 

AvaVis,  30,  76.  217,  220 

Aziru,  King  of  Amurri,  50,  etc. 

Azzati,  Gaza,  46 

Baal-zephon,  82 
Bailos,  112,  176  seq, 
Balumi,  Balaam,  49 
Bast,  212  et  alia,  221 
Bat-shar,  Beth-Shur,  66 
Beads,  125, 188 
Bedawin,  142 
Belbeys,  176  aeq. 
Benjamin  of  Tudela,  111 
Bethel-shelters,  72  seq. 
Biruna,  \ 
Birutu,  >55,  57 
Beirut,  j 
Bit-ninib,  60 
Bracelets,  126.  190 
Bronze,  126,  188,  192, 194 
Bubastis,  226,  232 
Buckles,  190,  193 

Burial  customs— iM-aelite  period,  120,  131, 

137  ;  Early  Christian,  188, 197 
Burials  —Israelite,  119  ;  Infants,  122 
Burru-Yusef-Pits  of  Joseph,  223 
Buruzilim,  5G 
Bushel,  182 

Carchemish,  34,  67 
Cemeteries,  23, 116,  187 
Census,  Israel,  88  seg. 
Chariots,  32,  34 
Charms,  158 
246 


Chedor-laomer,  229 
Children,  Egyptian,  151,  155 
Chronology  of  O.T.  from  Exodus,  103 
Climate,  13 

Coarseness,  women  and  children,  155,  225 
Constantlne,  187, 198 
Cretan— early  writing,  239  ;  pirates,  236 
Cuneiform,  in  Syria  and  Egypt,  41,  234 
Cyprus,  «e€  Alashia;  Vases,  125:  Pottery, 
232 

Dagox,  64 

Damascus,  48 

Daphnae,  104 

Diary  of  Unuamen,  237 

Divorce,  154 

Dream -pillars,  72 

Dreams,  72  ;  Phai'aoh's,  75,  227 

Dudu,  93 

Dushratta,  44,  45 

Dust  to  dust,  202 

E  ah- PLUGS,  128 
Ear-rings,  126,  137,  189 
Education,  151,  166 
Elatli,  86 

Elim,  Ain  Hawara,  84 

Empire,  Eeyptian,  41 

Etham,  81, 112 

Evans,  Arthur  J.,  239 

Excavation,  work,  methods,  9, 178 

Exodus— route,  SO  seq.;  date,  92  seq..  102 

Ezion-geber,  86 

Famine,  in  Egypt,  75  seq.,  227;  in  Pales- 
tine, 228 
Fanaticism,  160 
Farm-implements,  145 
Fatalism,  162 
Fellahin,  145 
Fetichism,  157 

Fiction,  early  Egyptian,  71.  236 
Flints,  20 

Fountain  of  Honis,  230 
Fragiles,  handling  of,  24 
Frog-bowl,  175 

Gabala,  Gebalites,  60 

Galilee  in  1379  B.C.,  49;  cities  of,  49 

Glass— mirrors.  191  ;  Roman,  195 
Gold,  126,  1&9 

Goshen— population,  88,  106;  of  Israelite 
times,  109  seq. ;  Water  of  Ra,  111 ;  town, 
113  seq.;  cemetery,  116;  date  of,  129; 
inhabitants  of  Israelite  period,  137 ; 
religion,  139  ;  modem  inhabitants,  142 
seq. 


INDEX 


247 


Government  in  Syria,  62  seq. 

Graia — scarcity  in  Palestine,  223 ;  scarcity 

in  Egypt,  36 
Granaries,  230 
Grenfell,  Dr  B.  P.,  116,132 
Griffith,  Mr,  211 
Gubla-Gabala  (Gebalites),  50 

Handwriting,  earliest,  233  seq. 
Hanebu— Greeks,  221 
Hataba,  Queen  of  Cyprus,  237 
Hat-uart.  221 

Heliopolis,  On,  110,  111,  120,  226 

Heroopolis — Pithom,  82 

Hittitfs,  see  Khita,  Khatti,  33,  43,  47,  61, 

65,  66,  67,  92 
Hor,  Admiral  of  Mediterranean  Fleet,  212. 

221 

Hospitality,  Arab,  165 
Huts,  12 

Ryksos,  Kings,  30,  93,  212,  217,  218  :  de- 
struction of  monuments  by,  219,  222 

Infant  burials,  122 

Inscriptions,  25;  tombston-s,  194;  statue 
of  Hor,  221;  aUbaster  vase,  230; 
Sinaitic  miners,  238 

Iron,  193,  etc.        -     '  L 

Irrigation,  146 

Israel— Stele  i)f  Merenptah,  68,  94 
Israelites,  70;  Census,  88,  113;  Burials, 

119;  Foreigners  of   Syria,    171,  174; 

Strangers,    177;     Handwriting,  241; 

Egyptian  influence  on,  241;  overseers 

and  men,  242;  Taskmaster  of,  171 
Ivory, 188;  cups,  192 

Jerusalem,  58,  60,  61,  cf.  Uru-^alira 
Jewelleiy  of  Israelite  period,  125;  later, 
188 

Josepb,71,  113;  tomb,  120.  227,  228 
Josenhus.  209  ;  accuracy,  215,  221 
Joshua,  48,  59,  62,  63 
Journals  of  Ancestors,  237 
Judges— ciironology,  97,  100  seq. 

Kaduro  (Hazor),  66 
Kash,  50,  52,  56,  67 
Kedesh,  66,  etc. 
Khabiri,  48,  50  =  Hebrews,  94 
Kbalu  =  (Palestine),  63 
Khazati  (Gaza),  59 
Khazui-a  (flazor),  68 

Khatti )  Hittices.  33,  43,  47,  61,  66-68,  65, 
Khita  i  66 
Khikhubta,  52 
Kohl-pots,  127 

Lakisha,  Lachish,  46 
Language,  15 
Lemanen— Lebanon,  G6 
Leontopolis,  209,  210,  212, 222 
Locks,  194 


Magic,  sympathetic,  158,  184 
Mahler,  i)r,  95 
Mandoline,  1000  B.C.,  124 
Manetho,  218  et  alia 
Marah,  84 

Marma,  L.  Merom,  66 
Maniage,  152  seq. 
Mask^,  clay,  134 
Mastabas,  131 
Megiddo,  31,  58,  60 
Melkhizedek,  63 
-Memphis,  74.  77 
Merenptah,  68,  80,  235 
Midianites,  So 
Migdol,  82 
Mirrors,  127,  191 
Mitanni,  44 
Moloch,  64 

Moon-worship,  157,  159 
Moph  or  Xoph=  Memphis 
Moral  overstrain,  164 
Moses— historical,  243  seq. 
Mounds,  21 
Mummies,  132,  203 

Nagada,  12.  20, 117,  159 
Naharaina,  31,  33,  66,  67 
Nails,  193 

Xaptikuriria  (Ameahotep  IV.),  43,  234 

Nuram-Sin,  13,  241 

Navil'e,  D.-  E.,  95,  167,  173,  186,  206 

Ntcho  11.,  IOj 

Necklaces,  126,  etc. 

Nectanebo,  Nekht-hor-heb,  114,  177,  232 

Nimmuria,  Ameiihotep  III.,  43,  234,  etc. 

Ninepins,  20 

Ninm-,  Queen,  60 

Xiy,  31,  34.  39 

Noph.  cf.  Memphis 

Nuffar,  13,  160 

Officials,  native,  16 
Official  reports,  early,  235 
Ointment-boxes,  alabaster,  191 
On,  cf.  Heliopnlis 

Onaias— Mound,  208,  210;  Temple,  212  seq. 
Ostrakun  inscribed,  211,  215,  239 
Oveas,  181. 

Papyrus,  132,  236 

Pa-Sopt,  Pi-saptu  =  Goshen,  107 

Passover  cylinders,  210 

Pendants,  127 

Pentam-,  poem  of,  67,  68 

Petrie,  Dr  W.  M.  F.,  11,  22,  24,  29,  34,  42, 

63,  67,  72,  78,  84,  88  i«<7,.  100,  112,  167, 

175,  2v5,  210,  238 
Phucusa, 
Phagusa,/^"' 
Pharan,  86  (Feir<tn) 
Philistines,  92 
Phinehas,  100 
Pi-bast,  I 
Pi-beseth,/" 


m    THE  EXPLORATION  OF  EGYPT 


Pi-ha-hiroth,  82 

Pinches,  T.  G.,  LL.D.,  41,  48,  65,  77,  93, 

95,  241. 
Pirates  of  Zakru,  236 
Pithom,  79, 1C9,  112 
Ploughing,  146 

Pottery  of  Israelite  period,  etc.,  123,  135, 

188,  231  et  aha 
Priests,  genealogies  of,  99  seq. 

Qkdesh,  31,  33,  67 
Qes— Goshen,  106 
Quibell,  Mr  J.  E.,  Cairo,  196 

Rabimuk,  56 
Ra-Ian  or  lan-Ra,  77 

Rameses — store-city,  78,  81,  112,  167  seq.  ; 

Land  of,  108 
Rameses  II.,  last  Pharaoh  of  Oppression, 

67,  110,  123,  128, 169. 172,  177, 221 
Rameses  III.,  59,  92,  171,  172,  221 
Ramsay,  Sir  W.  M.,  Aberdeen,  194 
Red  Sea,  86 
Rehoboam,  97 
Relationship  of  sexes,  155 
Religion,  of  Syria,  63  seq.;   of  Egypt, 

modern,  157 
Republic,  51 
Rephidim,  86 

Retabeh,  Rameses,  167  seq. 
Rheyta,  186  seq. 
Rhoetians,  206 
Ribadda,  50  seq. 
Rimmon,  63 
Robing  dead,  205 
Rutennu,  31,  33,  66 

Sacrifice,  child,  168 
Saft  el  Henneh,  106  seq. 
Sagas,  48 
Sagyah, 147 
Saui,  98 

Savce,  Professor,  70,  81,  82,  87 

Scarabs,  123, 199 

Scenas  Veteranorum,  206 

Serritising  of  Egypt,  34-37,  219 

Serabit,  72,  75 

Serapeion,  74,  82 

Setv  I.,  65  ;  lists  of,  110 

Shadoof,  146 

Shaft-pit  tombs.  131 

Shamuadda,  Shemaiah,  50 

Sharhana,  Sharuhen, 30,  31,  218 

Shasu,  65, 112 

Shishak  (1  Kings  xiv.  25),  97 

Shur,  {-3 

Sidon,  51,  54 

Silver,  126,  189  et  alia 

Sin,  wilderness,  84 

Sinai,  72  ;  population  of,  88  seg. 

Situlge,  bronze,  136 

Slaves,  Syrian,  32,  35 

Sookh,  market,  183  seq. 


Spoils  of  Syria,  etc.,  see  Tribute 

Spoons,  bronze,  191 

Steindorfif,  Dr,  77 

Stones,  inscribed,  194 

Storehouses— Pithom,  79;  'Goshen,  114; 

Sharhanba,  230;  Megiddo,'32 ;  Rameses, 

170 

Succoth,  79,  81, 112,  170 
Suffeh,  181 

Suph,  87  ;  Yam  Suph,  86 
Suwa  cemetery,  130 
Swathing  dead,  199,  201,  205 
SM-ords,  193 

Sylvia,  pilgrimage,  108, 172 

Tables  of  offerings,  135 
Tadukhipa,  viz.  Nefertiti,  Syrian  princess, 
44 

Tahpanhes  (Jer.  xliii.),  104 
Tamesgu,  Damascus,  38 
Tammuz,  65 
Tanis,  Zoan,  77 
Taskmaster  of  Israel,  171 
Tell,  Retabeh,  167  seq. ;  Sadun,  179  ^q. : 
Yahud,  186  seq.;  el  Yahudiyeh,  208,  217 
Terra-cotta  figures,  124 
Thothmes  I.,  II.,  III.,  31 
Thuku,  Succoth,  79,  112, 170 
Thyi,  Queen,  42,  95,  123 
Timasgi,  Damascus,  48 
Town  sites,  21,  117 

Tribute,  of  Syria,  32;  Hittites,  33,  43, 
Phenicia,  33,  34  ;  Megiddo,  32,  34 ; 
Retennu,  33;  Khatti,43;  Naharaina,  33 

Tsnrri,  Tyre,  54,  67 

Tunep,  33,  60 

Unuambn,  Papyrus  diary,  236 
Urusalim,  Jerusalem,  58,  60,  61 
Ushabtis,  124 

Vicrs  Judaeorum,  186 

Wady  Tumilat,  82, 112 
Wady  Gharandel,  84  (Marah) 
WadyHawara  (Elim),  84 
Water  of  RA,  Goshen,  111 
Woman,  place  of,  in  Egypt,  149  seq. 
Workmen,  18 

Yaluna  (Ajalon),  60 
Yam  Suph,  Red  Sea,  86 
Yapu-Joppa,  46 
Yarlmuta  (Laodicea),  52 

Zahi,  Phoenicia,  30,  33,  34 
Zakru,  Crete,  236 
Zalu,  31,  65 

Zaphen-ath-pa'eneakh  (Joseph),  77 
Zar,  Zur,  Tyre,  67 
Ziduna,  Sidon,  51,  54 
Ziri-basbani,  plain  of  Bashan, 
Zoan,  or  Tanis,  77 


DATE  DUE 

jui  n 

GAYLORD 

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